Girls und Panzer: The Eagles of Oarai
by InfantryGrunt94
Summary: Having won the tankery nationals, Oarai continues to thrive, but new rules set in motion a new turn of events. Aircraft are now allowed into Sensha-Do with male pilots, and some of these fly-boys might just have some of the girls in their crosshairs! HanaxOC
1. Chapter 1

Girls und Panzer: The Eagles of Oarai

Disclaimer: I do not own Girls und Panzer nor any franchise associated with it.

**U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Hub Zemke Aeronautical Academy school ship 0745 hrs.**

"Can't believe they actually did it." A boy said as he and his three other comrades all dressed in flight gear surrounded a small television set in a small ready room.

"Yeah, never would have thought a small and un-heard of school like Oarai would have been able to pull something off like that." Another remarked as they all watched as the school's tankery team proudly lifted their victory banner into the air.

"It's incredible. They saved their entire school from being shut down thanks to their victory…if only we could have been as lucky….." said another lugubriously looking over at a recently won trophy marked with "7th Annual Aerial Combat Tournament."

"Well in any event," said the one appearing to be the leader, "that place is gonna be our new home here shortly."

"This next flight to their school ship could be our last one….." said the first.

"Well, at least if it is, we went out with a bang." Said the boy who had been staring at the trophy.

"Just like Cass would've wanted it." Said another.

"The last flight of Eagle Squadron will definitely be one for the books boys. Live in fame…" the leader remarked.

"Or go down in flame!" the rest resounded.

With that all four walked out onto the deck of their school ship, one that resembled a World War II escort carrier. They reached their airfield and climbed into four P-51D Mustang fighter planes, all which had a chrome paint job with a black lightning bolt running the length of the fuselage.

As one in particular climbed in, he took a last look at his squadron's insignia emblazoned on the tail, a bald eagle clutching an American flag in one talon and a rebel flag in its other. "Well Jake, this is gonna be interesting." He said to himself as he started his engine and taxied down the runway with his squadron.

* * *

**Oarai Girls Academy School ship. 0820 hrs. Student Council room.**

"So, this is the arrangement the board decided on?" Anzu said curiously to an American man dressed in a naval officer's uniform accompanied by another in a flight suit.

"Yes." The naval officer replied in perfect Japanese. "With your school's recent success in the tankery nationals, it has become quite popular."

Anzu tilted her head to one side. The man continued, "When we learned that our school's situation was quite similar to your own, we sent word to your board with a proposition."

"And the proposition was to allow for the merging of our school and yours?" Anzu said curiously.

"Precisely." The man replied.

"Then this means!?" Momo said piping up. "It means boys will be allowed into Oarai!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Yes, as our school was co-ed, it means that Oarai will become co-ed as well. The students are mostly American as you may have guessed, but do not worry, because they have all been required to learn the Japanese language and customs so there need not be any changes to any lifestyles you already have." The American assured them.

All three girls simply stared in amazement before Anzu spoke up again, "Well that solves one barrier, but you mentioned that your school was an aeronautical school. Why join with Oarai?"

The man in the flight suit smiled a bit. "You do recall the recent changes to the rules of sensha-do correct?" Anzu looked confused.

"What changes are you talking about?" she asked before she was handed a booklet with the changes. Momo and Yuzu stood beside her and stared in shock as they read. "Then….you mean… we'll actually be able to," Yuzu started but was cut off by Momo, "FIELD AIRCRAFT!?"

"Yes" the man in the flight suit answered calmly.

"Prez, this changes everything! We'll have to get aircraft, pilots, and,"

"That's not necessary. I already have four fighter planes ready to go along with my four best boys to fly them." The flight officer said.

"BOYS!? IN SENSHA-DO!?" the girls all exclaimed. "Have another look at the rule changes." The naval officer said.

They looked and to their amazement, they saw that the tank crews would remain female only, but that the pilots of the aircraft fielded could be male or female. Anzu looked up from the rule changes.

"I see. When can we expect your pilot's as well as the new students?" The naval officer spoke back up, "They should be arriving this afternoon, just in time for their first day tomorrow."

* * *

**Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, 1030 hrs.**

Jake Housten looked over the instrument panel in his P-51D Mustang once more. This had to have been the thousandth time in the past hour, but he needed something to keep him occupied during the long flight from the _Kitty Hawk_ to he and his squadron's new home in Oarai.

He sighed under his oxygen mask as he looked down below his altimeter which read 8,000 feet. What had made him sigh was an old photograph taken after his squadron's victory in the semi-finals of the last Aerial Combat Tournament. He smiled as he saw the exuberant expressions of his squadron mates, but frowned when he came to the last one, a tall brunette girl who had formerly been their squadron commander.

Cassidy Ryan, or Cass for short, as they had all called her. She had been a great leader, and a real wildcat flier in her Mustang called "Pegasis." Unfortunately, she had died before the final match, and never lived to graduate high school.

Jake remembered how he and his squadron had fought heroically against the opposing team that had consisted of all German Me-262 jets, and had somehow won that tournament in Cass's memory. That victory, unfortunately however, wasn't enough to save their school. The U.S. had cut the budget for their aeronautical programs, and was re-directing the money into tankery. This had put Jake's school on the back burner, and eventually, headed for the dry dock and scrapyard. The school board however, had different plans. His squadron's teacher and mentor, Colonel Robert J. Jenkins along with the school's superintendent Admiral Walter A. Hornsby had somehow convinced Ooari to allow them to merge their two schools to alleviate the remaining debt Ooari had, and to, in a way, save their own school.

Jake pushed these thoughts out of his mind as he looked over to his wingman flying directly to his left. "Eagle 4, this is Eagle 2, how ya holdin' up over there Tex?" he radioed in his thick southern drawl.

"Just fine Eagle 2, but I'm awfully ready for this flight to be over!" his wingman called back in a drawl similar to his own.

Jake smiled. He and his wingman, Jeremy "Tex" Lyons were the only two members of the squadron from the American south, with Jake being from Georgia and Tex obviously hailing from Texas.

"You know, you two sure have some weird accents!" their leader's wingman, Chris Rowland, who hailed from Boston called over the radio.

Jake chuckled as his wingman called back, "Yeah? Well same could be said for you Eagle 3! Ya damn city slicker!"

Chris burst out laughing before replying with "Hey….watch it Eagle 4!"

"You boys all done with the tough love routine yet?" the squadron leader who hailed from Virginia, Richard, "Cap" Walker radioed them all.

"Roger that Eagle 1." Jake replied back.

"Solid copy Cap!" Tex replied.

"All clear sir!" Chris said.

They heard him laugh before he replied with, "Well, at least everyone is still in a good mood. We're gonna need to make a good impression on those people at Oarai though, so as soon as we land, you all keep your bearing just like the Colonel taught us." He said.

"Hey Eagle 1?" Chris said.

"What is it Eagle 3?" Richard replied.

"Is it really true we're gonna be flying in tankery matches this year? Seems kinda weird if you ask me." He stated.

"That's an affirmative Chris. We will be flying in tankery matches." Richard said back.

"Now why in the sam hell would we do that?" Tex questioned.

"Because that's the only thing that's gonna keep us flying Eagle 4. Besides, I can see why the sensha-do officials decided to allow fighter planes into it. Could make for some interesting matches." Jake said in response.

"Well whatever the reason, it's gonna be a different kind of ball game from here on out. How are you boys on fuel?" Richard asked.

Jake glanced down out his fuel gage. "Looks good here Cap. Used up about a quarter and a half in my drop tanks, and still got all of my internal fuel." Jake responded.

"Roughly the same here boss." Tex said.

"And for me!" Chris said.

"Thank the Lord for the P-51's long legs." Jake muttered under his breath.

"Alright then, but keep an eye on those gages. Won't be long before we reach Ooari now Eagles." Richard said.

* * *

**Oarai city carrier, 1300 hrs. Apartment complex.**

Hana Isuzu smiled pleasantly as she busied herself with another one of her flower arrangements. She had decided to take a quiet, relaxing day since school was to start soon, and she hadn't had much time to work on her arrangements lately.

As she worked, she thought about the events of the previous school year and her time in the school's sensha-do team; how the team had gotten their baptism by fire in their friendly match against St. Gloriana, and how her tank crew had been forced to do the Ankou dance for losing.

Hana grimaced as she thought of that, but smiled as she remembered their first victory against Saunders and how she had miraculously fired her Panzer IV's main gun and knocked out the flag tank from a ridge just when all had seemed lost.

She also recalled her shock during the match against Pravda when she learned that her school would be shut down if they did not win the tankery championship. But again, thanks large in part to her tank commander, one Miho Nishizumi, they had emerged victorious and had made it to the finals where they faced Miho's former school Kuromorimine.

It had been a hard fought victory, but they once again emerged victorious thanks to the crew of the Panzer IV and Miho's leadership.

Hana's gaze then shifted to a photo nearby of her and her friends in front of their Panzer IV Aufs H. Their commander, Miho Nishizumi was smiling timidly, while Hana's long time best friend and the crew's radio operator, Saori Takebe was flashing a peace sign. Their sleepy driver, Mako Reizei, looked half asleep as usual, and their loader, Yukari Akiyama was hugging Miho while Hana was off to the side smiling happily.

The gunner giggled a bit upon glancing at the photo, but then winced when she recalled a rumor that had been circulating around the ship lately; a co-ed school was merging with theirs to alleviate the rest of the debt the school still had.

Hana shuddered at the thought. It just seemed a bit strange. But she smiled and thought to herself, "At least I'll still be able to do tankery again this year with all of my friends."

She turned back to her arrangement when her cell phone vibrated.

"Huh?" she said out loud as she picked it up.

She looked at the caller ID expecting to see Saori or Miho's number, but instead she saw a text message from Momo, the student council PR Manager which read, "Meet at the tankery sheds in twenty minutes."

Hana cocked her head to one side curiously upon reading the message. "I wonder what's going?" she thought out loud before putting on her shoes and heading out to the sensha-do sheds.

* * *

**Oarai Tankery sheds, 1345 hrs.**

Hana and the rest of Anglerfish team made it to the tankery sheds before the rest of the other crews to find the Student Council Team standing near a large shipping crate.

"Oh, good to see you all made it!" Anzu said munching on a dried sweet potato.

"What on earth is that?" Saori said pointing to the crate.

"That's actually what we called everyone here to talk about…." Anzu responded.

"That is an awfully large crate." Miho remarked.

"Oh! Did we get a new tank! I hope it's a new tank! Like maybe a Tiger I, or an M-26 Pershing, or a," Yukari was cut off by Miho placing her hand on Yukari's shoulder and saying "Panzer halt."

Yukari blushed and said, "Uhhh, yeah sorry…."

The group laughed a bit before Hana remarked, "I didn't think the school treasury had enough for a new tank already."

"We don't." Yuzu replied.

"Then what is it?" Mako asked sleepily.

"We'll tell you once the other teams get here." Momo stated firmly.

Finally, the crews of the Hippo, Leopon, Rabbit, Anteater, Mallard, and Duck team all arrived and gathered curiously around the crate. Anzu stood atop the crate and said, "Good afternoon everybody, I'm sure you're all wondering why we called you here, and I have some very alarming news for you. Momo?"

Whispers began to circulate around the teams.

"As you all may have heard," Momo began," there have been rumors floating around that our school is being merged with an American school ship. Well, these rumors…are true."

Many gasps erupted from the teams before Momo raised her hand to silence the uprising.

"As you all may already know, this school, known as Hub Zemke Aeronautical Academy was co-ed," Momo continued,

"Which means…" Hana spoke up.

"BOYS!" Saori burst out with stars in her eyes. "I can finally get a real boyfriend now!" Saori continued to yell in excitement.

Hana and Miho blushed and shrugged slightly in embarrassment at their friend's outburst, but Hana began to wonder about what Saori had said.

"I wonder if there will be any boys who'd like me?" she thought to herself, but quickly shrugged that thought off as she knew she'd be busy enough trying to keep her best friend under control.

"So that's the big announcement?" Akebi Sasaki, the gunner of Duck team, and volleyball team member spoke up.

"But you still haven't told us what's in that big crate!" Aya, one of the young members of Rabbit team protested.

"Well, yeah that's also part of the announcement. Leopon team, if you'd be so kind?" Anzu said gesturing to the automotive club and crew of the Porsche Tiger.

"On it!" said Nakajima happily as she and her colleagues grabbed crowbars and began to pry at the crate.

After a minute or two or prying the front of the crate finally broke free and revealed what had been inside.

"Huh?" Miho and Hana both said in surprise.

They were both staring at the nose of an aircraft inside of the crate.

"What…" Miho began.

"is that?" Hana finished her sentence.

Yukari then jumped up excitedly. "OH! I know what it is! It's," she said before the automotive club pried open the rest of the crate to reveal the fuselage and wings of an American fighter plane.

"a P-51D Mustang!" Yukari cried.

"Ah, the Mustang, one of the greatest fighters of the Second World War. Shot down over a thousand German aircraft with its six Browning machine guns and could outperform almost any other fighter with its Rolls Royce Merlin engine." Erwin, the commander of the STuG III remarked.

"But what's this plane got to do with our school going co-ed!?" Saori asked confused.

"I told you that the school was an aeronautical school, and it had its own aerial combat team, somewhat similar to tankery." Momo explained.

"So we're getting an aerial combat team?" Mako asked dis-interested.

"Not exactly….." Anzu replied.

"What do you mean?" Hana asked.

"The new rules of sensha-do state that a total of four to five aircraft can now be fielded for reconnaissance, ground attack, and dogfighting against the opposing teams planes. So, in light of these new rules, we'll be getting new planes and pilots from the new school as our air support this season." Anzu stated.

Everyone was once again in shock.

"So when do we get to meet the pilots!? I hope they're a bunch of cute boys!" Saori said excited.

"They should be arriving with the rest of the new students this afternoon. Once they're here, we'll all be able to meet them, and go over how the team will be operating this year." Yuzu said in response.

"Everyone should stay near the sensha-do sheds until they arrive as we'll be riding in our tanks out to the airfield." Momo added.

"But until then, feel free to do whatever you want." Anzu said as she and her two comrades headed for their Hetzer.

Hana and her friends then walked up to the Mustang and observed it more closely. She marveled at the yellow and silver paint job that made it glisten in the afternoon sun. She also noted a small painting of a white winged horse with the name "Pegasis" emblazoned in red on the forward part of the fuselage.

Meanwhile, Miho was observing the insignia of a bald eagle with an American flag in one talon and a Rebel flag in the other on the Mustang's tail. Underneath the insignia was a number, "01" it had read, and Miho assumed it was the squadron leaders plane.

"It looks like this was probably the flight commander's plane." Yukari read Miho's thoughts.

"But I wonder why he or she wouldn't have flown it here." Saori wondered.

Hana looked again at the painting of the pegasis on the plane's nose.

"Pegasis….it's a Mustang, and a pegasis is a winged horse…it's a fitting name for such a pretty plane." Hana said giggling.

"Isuzu-dono, don't tell me you're getting a thing for airplanes!" Yukari said.

Everyone laughed a little before Hana replied with, "I just think it's a fitting name. But I bet whoever flew this was really good judging by those kill markers." She said pointing to the many marks below the cockpit.

"I really don't know much about the school, but I heard that it had one of the best aerial combat teams in the U.S." Yukari said.

"If it was so good, I wonder why they decided to close down the school." Miho said.

"From what I've gathered, the U.S. decided to start pooling more money into tankery because of how fast it's been growing, and they had to shut that other school down." Yukari replied.

"It sounds a lot like what almost happened to Oarai. That must have been really terrible for those students." Hana said.

"Yeah, but at least now they have a new place to call home, and I finally get to meet boys!" Saori said.

All laughed as Saori said, "It's official, I'm going to have at least three boyfriends and get engaged before this year is over!"

"Isn't that a bit much Saori?" Miho said sheepishly.

"C'mon Miporin! You should get a boyfriend yourself! Hana, you too!"

Both girls again blushed in embarrassment. The group continued to observe the Mustang and chat amongst themselves before the drone of aircraft engines could be heard. All the girls looked up to see small black dots on the horizon.

"The new students will be touching down soon! Everyone into your tanks! We'll be heading for the airfield immediately!" Momo called.

With that Hana and her team rushed to their Panzer IV Aufs H. As Mako started the engine and fell in behind the rest of the team, Hana leaned out of her hatch trying to get another glimpse of the incoming aircraft. She then spotted what looked like large propeller driven passenger planes, but then off to her right she spotted four other smaller specks.

They eventually came roaring over the column of tanks and Hana was able to clearly identify the planes as four more P-51D's colored in the same chrome as the first, but with a large black lightning bolt running the length of the fuselage. Hana watched as the planes circled waiting their turn to land as she and her comrades pulled into the airfield.

Meanwhile, as the girls waited for the planes to land, Turtle team was all sitting atop their Hetzer with the files of the four pilots in hand. Anzu looked down once more at the files as she laid them out across the roof of the tank. The files contained a basic photo of each pilot along with their names, ranks, height, weight, blood types, call-signs, flight hours logged, and their area of expertise. All were of Caucasian decent, and from various U.S. states. The first profile contained a picture of a tall boy about 18 in age with dark hair and blue eyes. The profile read:

Name: Richard Walker

Rank: Flight Captain

Height: 6'0

Weight: 165lbs

Blood type: A pos

Call-sign: Eagle 1

Combat specialty: squadron leadership

Flight hours logged: 500+ hrs. in P-51D Mustang, 80 hrs. in P-40 Warhawk, and 100+ simulator hrs. in F-15C Eagle.

Anzu knew that this was the squadron's leader, and turned her attention to the second profile which was of a boy about 17 in age with short dirty blonde hair and grey-blue eyes that were a shade similar to Hana's. This profile read:

Name: Jake Housten

Rank: Flight 1st Lieutenant

Height: 5'8

Weight: 155lbs

Blood type: B pos

Call-sign: Eagle 2

Combat specialty: Dogfighting

Flight Hours Logged: 500+ hrs. in P-51D Mustang, 90 hrs. in F6F-Hellcat, and 100+ simulator hrs. in F-15C Eagle.

Anzu was again impressed as she read the profile. Both pilots so far had quite a few flight hours in two different kinds of sensha-do eligible fighters, and simulator hours in one kind of modern jet fighter.

"How are they looking prez?" Yuzu asked as one of the C-47 Skytrains carrying the regular students touched down on the runway.

"I'm impressed so far. Let's see about these other two." She said looking at the next to last which was of another boy with brown hair and brown eyes, and 18 in age. This one read:

Name: Chris Rowland

Rank: Flight 2nd Lieutenant

Height: 5'5

Weight: 148lbs

Blood type: O neg

Call-sign: Eagle 3

Combat specialty: Ground Attack

Flight Hours Logged: 500+ hrs. in P-51D Mustang, 75 hrs. in P-47 Thunderbolt, and 100+ simulator hrs. in F-15C Eagle.

Anzu smiled as she saw this pilot's combat specialty.

"Looks like we know which one of these pilots will be knocking out most of our opposing panzers!" she said as another C-47 touched down.

"How bout' the last one?" Yuzu asked looking at the final profile of another boy with sandy blonde hair and green eyes about 17 in age. The final profile read:

Name: Jeremy "Tex" Lyons

Rank: Flight 2nd Lieutenant

Height: 5'6

Weight: 157 lbs

Blood type: B neg

Call-sign: Eagle 4

Combat specialty: Aerial Recon

Flight Hours Logged: 500+ hrs. in P-51D Mustang, 85 hrs. in P-38 Lightning, and 100+ simulator hrs. in F-15C Eagle.

Anzu again smiled pleased and said, "I think these pilots might just be our ticket to another national championship!"

"I hope you're right prez…." Yuzu said as the last C-47 touched down. Finally, the moment the girls had all been waiting for arrived; the four P-51's began their final approach for landing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Inspired by JangoCommando27's **_**New Friends, New Horizons.**_

**Above Oarai Girls Academy carrier ship, 1530 hrs.**

* * *

"Oarai tower, this is Eagle Squadron, request permission to land, over." Richard radioed Oarai's airfield control tower.

As Jake waited for the reply, he lifted his sun visor on his flight helmet to get a better look at the ship.

As he and his squadron orbited above the ship once more, he still couldn't believe how big it was, it was HUGE! The _Kitty Hawk_ had been no larger than the small farm town in Pine Hill, Georgia where he had grown up, but Oarai made it look like a dwarf!

"Eagle Squadron, you are cleared to land on runway 3. Welcome to Oarai, over." The tower radioed back.

With that Jake set his mind back to the task at hand.

"Alright Eagles, gear and flaps down, prepare for landing." Richard ordered.

"WILCO Ealge 1." Jake responded.

"Roger Cap." Came Tex's response.

"Sure thing boss." Chris called.

As they circled around for their final approach, Jake noticed about eight tanks sitting near the tarmac in anticipation of their arrival.

"So those are the tanks that won the nationals eh?" Jake thought to himself.

One by one, the Mustangs touched down on the runway, each one a few seconds behind the other, and taxied to a stop near the tanks. Jake sighed again as he powered down his engine, and thrust the picture of his team into his flight suit pocket.

"Once more into the storm…" he thought.

He removed his flight helmet in favor of a black ball cap with an infrared U.S. flag on the front and his aviator shades, and then slid his canopy back and dismounted his fighter.

He then stood at attention beside his plane, as did the other three boys, as their flight instructor, Colonel Robert J. Jenkins approached. As he neared, all four pilots saluted.

As the officer returned their salutes, he then addressed them in English with "Welcome to Oarai gentlemen. Make no mistake about it, you are not in Kansas anymore."

All the boys remained silent.

"This is going to be your new home, but remember we are essentially guests here, so remember the Japanese language and customs you were taught prior to arrival here. This is the first ever joint U.S.-Japanese school, and you will show the world why you are the most professional and skilled pilots in the world, is that clear?" he asked.

"Yes sir!" all four pilots resounded.

"Alright, enough said. Gather your gear, and meet me over by the tanks. It's time to introduce you all to some of your new class and team mates." The Colonel said before walking back towards the panzers.

Jake quickly retrieved the rest of his gear from his Mustang and waited for the rest of his squadron.

"Hey Jake, how much of that language and customs do you remember?" Tex asked.

"Most of all it. I can understand the language pretty well, but when it comes to speaking it I," Jake was cut off by Chris,

"He can't speak it with that thick accent of his! I don't think you've fared much better either Tex!" he taunted the two Southerners.

"Shut up Chris! At least we can understand it, whereas you can't tell the difference between yes and no!" Jake shot back.

"Hey, I was busy workin' on my last relationship! I didn't have time for all that business!" Chris said boastfully.

"You mean how you almost got yourself expelled for doing a flyby over the Admiral's daughter?" Tex laughed.

Chris smirked. "Says the guy who's never had a real girlfriend before!"

Tex shot back, "Hey it's not my fault those girls turned me down! What they don't know is that I'm the best that they'll never have!"

"Whatever you say Hayseed!" Chris replied.

"Alright, knock it off you two!" Jake finally said.

"I can't leave you three alone for five minutes can I?" Richard said having retrieved all of his gear.

"I had em' in line Cap!" Jake said jokingly.

"If by that you mean at each other's throats, then you sure did!" he laughed.

They all chuckled before they all walked towards the panzers with the girls eyeing them curiously.

"Alright boys, remember to make a good first impression. We want this squadron to continue." Richard reminded the other three boys.

"Right. For Cass!" Jake said.

"For Cass." They all repeated before approaching the Colonel and eight other girls surrounding a Panzer IV Aufs H.

All four boys again saluted the Colonel, and once the officer had returned the gesture he introduced the pilot's new colleagues.

"Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet your new commanders." he said as a tall girl with dark hair and a spectacle approached with another shorter red haired girl who seemed much friendlier than the first.

Welcome to Oarai. I am Momo Kawashima, sub commander of the sensha-do team," she then looked over to the other girl, "Commander?"

The other seemed to be more shy as she jumped slightly before introducing herself, "Good afternoon. I'm Miho Nishizumi, commander of the sensha-do team. It's very nice to meet you all." She said giving a bow.

"Needless to say, you'll be taking all orders from Miho or Momo during matches so get acquainted, and make sure you respect them." The Colonel said.

"Yes Sir!" the pilots resounded again before snapping off a salute to the two commanders.

Momo raised a return salute and Miho raised a shy but firm salute.

Meanwhile over on the turret of the Panzer IV, Hana, Yukari, Saori, and Mako were watching things unfold curiously.

"They're much different than I thought they'd be." Hana said.

"Yeah no kidding. These boys seem a lot more disciplined than the usual Americans I've met, like at Saunders." Yukari remarked.

"I was right! They're all cute!" Saori was now getting excited.

Then suddenly one of them looked their way.

"Oh my gosh he's looking over here! Is he looking at me!? Wait….Hana he's looking at you!" Saori said upon noticing the boy with short dirty blonde hair and grey blue eyes was looking at her best friend, and not her!

Hana immediately blushed, and so did the boy as he realized he had been looking too long.

"Shit!" Jake thought as he mentally kicked himself. "I bet she thinks I'm some kind of weirdo now…." He said to himself.

He then snapped back to the present when Momo said, "The student council president would like to have a word with the squadron leader, please step forward."

"That would be me." Richard said stepping forward.

"Excellent. Commander your instructions?" Momo said turning to Miho.

"Ummm, well how about you all get know everyone?" she suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Alright Eagles, get to know your new team mates and regroup in an hour." Richard said.

"HOORAH!" the three others resounded.

"Oh yeah, I'll _definitely_ be getting to know these girls!" Chris said quietly to Tex and Jake in English as he walked over toward the Duck team's Type-89.

"I think I'm gonna go talk to that STuG III's crew Jake. Always had me an eye for German armor!" Tex said.

"Alright bud, catch you later." Jake said as turned back to the crew of the IV.

"Commander ma'am." Jake said to Miho as he once again saluted her.

"You don't have to salute me every time you see me you know." Miho said with a smile.

"Oh, right." Jake said sheepishly.

"It's alright. Anyway," she said gesturing to her crew, "these are my friends."

They all hopped down from their tank to greet their new pilot with eagerness.

"Saori Takebe! Nice to meet you!" said a lively ginger haired girl.

"Yukari Akiyama!" said a girl with short brown hair as she saluted.

"Mako Reizei." Said a short, sleepy, dark haired girl.

Jake then turned his head to the last girl of the group, a tall, beautiful, elegant, dark haired girl with eyes similar to his own.

"Hana Isuzu." She said with a bow.

Jake was slow to answer as he knew his Japanese wasn't that great, but he began with, "Nice to meet you all, I'm Jake Housten." He said extending his hand towards Hana.

"Crap, that's not right!" Jake thought to himself as he remembered that handshakes weren't customary in Japan.

He quickly jerked his hand back and bowed sheepishly.

The girls were silent for a moment before he heard them giggle. Hana then spoke up in perfect English, "Still getting used to things?"

Jake, who was in shock, replied with, "Uhh….yeah…."

He felt his cheeks start to turn red as he removed his shades.

Hana then smiled and accepted his handshake, "Don't worry about it too much. I'm sure you'll get the hang of things in no time."

Jake smiled back. "Thanks. I know my Japanese isn't the best, but I promise it won't stay that way forever."

The girls giggled again.

"What's so funny?" he asked as the girls whispered amongst themselves.

Hana blushed before replying with, "Ummm, your accent."

"Huh?" Jake said confused.

"It's just….kind of funny how you speak."

Jake laughed a bit as he realized this was the first time they had probably ever heard a southern drawl before.

"Well, that's what happens when you grow up in South Georgia I guess. You can take a southerner out of the south, but you'll never take the south out of a southerner!" he replied.

"So what year are you in?" Saori then asked.

"12th grade, but I guess by yall's standards I'd be a third year." He said.

"Oh! So are we!" Saori said.

"Maybe we'll be in some of the same classes." Miho said.

"Yeah maybe. Classes start tomorrow though don't they?" Jake asked.

"Yeah that's right." Yukari said.

"Great! About what time do they start?" Jake asked.

"Usually around nine in the morning." Hana responded.

"Nine? Wow! That's a lot different from what I'm used to! I used to start classes around seven forty five or eight!" Jake said surprised.

Mako's eyes grew wide at Jake's statement.

"How can a human possibly function at that time in the morning?!" Mako said in amazement.

"Easily. I just wake up and do PT with my squadron around five thirty and it'll take me through the rest of the day." Jake said.

"You're insane!" Mako yelled.

They all burst out laughing before Saori explained, "Mako has a hard time getting up in the morning if you couldn't already tell."

"So I noticed." Jake laughed.

It was then that Momo announced, "All crews back into your tanks! We're heading back to the sheds! Eagle Squadron, your Mustangs will remain here tonight until we can move them to the tankery sheds. Furthermore, there will be a meeting for tank commanders and squadron members immediately following our return."

Richard then said from the Hetzer, "We're catching a ride with the girls Eagles. Just find an empty seat anywhere you can!"

Hana then turned to Jake and offered, "You can ride with us back to the sheds if you want."

Jake noticed a bit of red creeping up her cheek as she said this and replied with "Sure, that'd be great!"

He then noticed a bit of red creeping up his own cheek. As he climbed aboard the Panzer IV's turret he noticed Saori whispering something to Miho and giggling.

"I wonder what they're flabbin' about…." He thought to himself.

Jake spent most of the ride talking with mostly Hana, but with Miho and Yukari as well about life as a pilot, life in the U.S., how things were on the ship, and what they might be up against in the coming sensha-do season.

Either way, Jake knew he was gonna be in for one wild year.

**Oarai Sensha-do sheds, 1730 hrs.**

* * *

The Panzer IV pulled back into its respective hangar bay, and Jake and the rest of Anglerfish team dismounted the tank.

As Jake stepped down he offered a hand to Hana to aid her in her descent off of the tank.

"Thanks for the ride." He said as he helped her down.

"Of course! Think nothing of it." She said smiling as Jake helped Miho and Yukari down as well.

"We'd better get going Jake. We still have that meeting to get to." Miho said.

"Right, I'd almost forgotten about that. Well, I guess I'll see you all tomorrow hopefully?" he said looking over at Hana.

"Sure. Like Miho said, maybe we'll be in some of the same classes."

"Yeah, well see you all later I guess." Jake said waving as he turned to head for the student council room.

Hana smiled and waved back before she heard Saori giggle. Hana turned around to see her best friend beside herself in laughter.

"What's so funny Saori?" Hana asked curiously.

"I think you've got an admirer Hana!" Saori said slyly.

Hana's eyes went wide in surprise as she blushed. "W-What do you mean Saori!?"

"Isn't it obvious!? Jake has a crush on you!"

Hana jumped as Saori stated this.

"T-That's….a very big assumption Saori. How do you know?" Hana asked blushing even harder.

Saori crossed her arms and frowned before replying, "Hana you are so clueless sometimes! Didn't you see the way he was looking at you earlier?"

Hana thought back to when their eyes had first met back at the airfield when she had caught Jake looking at her. She remembered how entranced he had looked at first and how embarrassed he had quickly become when her eyes had met his.

"Not to mention he seemed more interested in talking to you than the rest of us." Yukari pointed out.

Hana pondered on what her friends had just said before quietly admitting, "He is kind of cute…" she blushed and smiled as she said this, which made her friends giggle even more.

"Now you just have to confess! You should probably-" Saori was cut off by Mako in her usual monotone voice,

"They've only known each other for maybe three hours."

"Mako has a point." Yukari said in agreement.

"Oh fine! I guess it's better to be friends first, but then, when the time is right, you should confess!" Saori said still excited.

Hana again blushed as she looked up at the setting sun.

She smiled before saying, "C'mon everyone, let's go get something to eat."

"Yeah!" Saori said in agreement.

"I'm game!" Yukari said.

"Right behind you." Mako replied.

As the four friends walked towards one of the ships many restaurants, Hana again pondered on her feelings for this new boy.

"Just maybe…." She smiled as she thought to herself.

* * *

**Student Council Room, 1800 hrs.**

Jake walked in to the student council room, and took a seat on one of the couches with the rest of his squadron. They were soon joined by the rest of the commanders, as well as Col. Jenkins and Ami Chono, the school's tankery instructor.

Anzu then stood and said, "Welcome everyone. Like I already said earlier, sensha-do has some new rules this year, and I've asked our two instructors to preside over this meeting to explain things a little better."

Chono and Jenkins then stepped forward.

Chono began with, "Welcome back girls, and welcome to Oarai Eagle Squadron." She said giving a nod to the male pilots.

"As I'm sure you're all now aware, the new rules state that up to five aircraft can be fielded by a team in any given match. The changes also allow for boys to be incorporated in a way as well, such that the pilots of these aircraft can be male or female. The tank crews however, will remain all female for the time being." Chono stated.

"Are there any changes in the rules of engagement?" Miho asked.

"Good question Miho. Most typical rules of engagement have not changed, but there are several. Don't worry though, because most of them only apply to your flyboys there." She said gesturing towards Jake and his squadron.

"I'll let you explain the rest Colonel." She said as Jenkins stepped forward.

"Thank you Ami. Now then, as you're all aware, the Eagles already have a considerable amount of time in the cockpit, so you have a solid group of flyers on your side. But now then, on to the rules of engagement." He said as a projector screen was rolled down with the new rules showing on it.

Jake and his team looked curiously as they wondered how badly they may or may not be limited.

"First off, the types of aircraft that can be used are only those that were designed and used from 1939-1945. Any aircraft deigned or used past 1945 is disqualified. Furthermore, only fighter and fighter-bomber class aircraft are allowed. There will be no use of dive bombers, torpedo planes, or heavy bombers."

All nodded in response.

"Secondly the munitions. All aircraft are allowed to use any and all calibers of machine guns and cannons of that era, but only unguided rockets and bombs are allowed for ground attack. Also, tank crews will be allowed to mount anti-air machine guns and artillery on their tanks for use against the opposing team's aircraft, but the crews are only allowed to use these weapons for use against the aircraft. There will be no anti-air engagements made with the tank's main guns." Jenkins continued.

The tank commanders again nodded in approval before Momo said, "We've already arranged for several MG-42 and Browning M2 style machine guns to be delivered to the tankery team for this purpose, so all tank crews should have some type of anti-air capability."

The Colonel then finished with, "Lastly, the pilots are cleared to engage any and all aircraft, and any and all tanks excluding the flag tank in that sort of match. The officials deemed that allowing aircraft to fire on the flag tank would be too much of a conflicting issue with the main focus of the sport being on the tanks. Furthermore, an aircraft will be considered knocked out when red smoke begins trailing behind it. There will be no more engagement of an aircraft once it has deployed knock out smoke."

All present once again nodded.

Richard then spoke up, "So in short, our Mustangs are a go, our machine guns, rockets and bombs are cleared for ground targets, and we are cleared to engage any targets excluding the flag tank?"

"Correct Flight Captain. Any other questions?" the Colonel asked.

The room fell silent.

"Excellent. Miss President I'll turn it back over to you." The Colonel said looking back over at Anzu.

"Well that about covers it! If there's nothing else, you all are free to go. Eagles, you stay behind so we can give you your class schedules." She said gesturing towards the pilots.

All were getting up to leave when suddenly Sodoko, the commander of the Mallard team spoke up.

"Wait! What about fraternization policies between males and females in the sensha-do team! There has to be some kind of policy intact to keep male perverts in line!" Sodoko said glaring at the boys.

Jake was taken aback by the Public Morals Committee head's outburst. He simply frowned and shot a disapproving look back at Sodoko.

"Calm down Sodoko. They've only been here for a few hours and you're already judging them?" Anzu said dis-interested.

"Well….but you still didn't answer my question prez!" Sodoko persisted.

Anzu sighed exasperated and replied, "No Sodoko, we haven't implemented such a policy, but we'll look into it…."

"If I could speak ma'am, I can assure you that the squadron and I have every intention of treating everyone here the utmost courtesy and respect." Jake said as he took a stand for his squadron.

Sodoko then puffed out her cheeks and said, "Well at any rate, NONE of you are allowed to date ANY of the girls at Oarai, especially the ones on the sensha-do team or else! The Public Morals Committee has spoken!" Sodoko said menacingly pointing her finger at the pilots.

Jake shook his head in disbelief. Was he really getting threatened by a girl half his size? He sighed and shook his head once more before replying, "Whatever you say."

"Hmphh!" Sodoko huffed before storming out of the room.

Miho giggled a bit before turning back to Jake and his squadron, "Don't mind Sodoko. She may come off really strict and mean sometimes, but she means well. She'll come around more as she gets to know you all."

Richard stood and gave a bow to Miho with, "Thanks for the vote of confidence Miss Nishizumi, and you have my word that my squadron and I are certainly not what she's insinuated us to be."

Miho smiled and bowed back with, "Right. And you don't have use honorifics all the time. Please, just call me Miho."

Richard smiled back and said, "Absolutely."

With that Miho and the rest of the commanders left the boys to acquire their schedules.

As Yuzu handed them their schedules Anzu said, "Well, I hope you all are ready for a new experience tomorrow."

"Don't worry ma'am, my boys and I have been through a lot. I'm pretty sure another first day at a new school won't be too bad." Richard said.

"Right on the money Cap!" Tex agreed.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Chris replied.

"Yeah, just wish we could wear our flight suits instead of the uniform, like back at Hub Zemke." Jake said looking at his schedule.

"They're really not that bad once you get used to them." Yuzu reassured him.

"Well at any rate, just be on time for practice tomorrow, ok? That's all for now, so you all are dismissed." Anzu said.

The pilots nodded in approval and filed out of the council room. As Jake walked with his squadron to the apartment complex, he pondered on something that had been eating at him since he had landed, Hana.

"She sure was pretty….and nice, and elegant, and classy, and….wait, do I like her!?" Jake thought to himself.

Eventually Cap and Chris broke off from Tex and Jake who were housed in a different complex and Tex began to notice Jake's apprehensiveness. "C'mon Jake, what's eatin' ya' partner?" Tex asked finally being able to use English again.

"Oh uh….nothing. Just a little scatterbrained from everything today that's all." Jake bluffed.

Tex smirked and replied, "It's that tall, dark haired girl from that Panzer IV isn't it?"

Jake felt himself get hot in embarrassment, and he was also amazed at how well his wingman knew him.

"Is it that obvious?" Jake chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, a little. But hey I don't blame ya, she's cute! And from what I saw from the STuG when we was ridin' back, she probably likes you too!"

Jake raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Well she sure seemed to be talkin' to you a lot, and she constantly had her eye on you, so I'd say that's pretty obvious!"

Jake chuckled again as they reached their apartments. "Whatever you say bud! Anyway, I'll see you in the morning!" he said as they went their separate ways.

As Jake walked into his new apartment, he found most of his belongings were already there in boxes piled high around the living space. He then took off his boots and began thinking some more on Hana.

He smiled and thought, "She'll at least make a good friend if nothing else."

Finally he shed his flight suit for some gym shorts and a t-shirt and crawled into bed.

After the long flight and the events of the day he was exhausted, and it didn't take him long to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Oarai Apartment Complex. 0530 hrs.**

* * *

Beep, beep. Beep, Beep. Beep, beep. Beep, SLAM!

Jake groggily hit the button on his alarm clock. Looking down at the time, it read 5:30 A.M.

He grinned as he thought of what Mako had said the day before. Then he set his mind back to the present as he threw on his workout clothes and headed out the door to meet with the rest of his squadron.

He met Tex immediately after exiting his apartment and greeted him with, "Morning Tex. Sleep well?"

Tex yawned before replying with "Naw, not so good. But whatever!" he said in his usual cheerful demeanor.

The duo then met with the other two members of the squadron about a block away.

"So what's it gonna be this morning Cap? Cardio or strength training?" Chris asked.

"Thought we'd start out with a run so we can orient ourselves around the ship while it's still quiet." Richard replied.

"Quiet is an understatement. This whole place is dead!" Tex noted.

"Guess that driver from the PzIV was right when she said not many people are up at this hour!" Jake laughed.

"Alright, well enough chatter, lets break a sweat!" Richard said taking off down a street.

The boys ran about eight miles before the sun started to peek over the horizon, and eventually made it back to their apartments.

"Well, that'll sure enough wake ya' up!" Tex said as he and Jake walked back to their apartments.

"I'll say! Nothin' like a little early morning run to start the day off right!" Jake replied wiping sweat from his brow.

He then glanced down at his watch. "Only seven-twenty on the dot, and classes don't start till nine." He thought out loud.

"Lot of time, that's for sure." Tex replied.

"Yeah, I think this'll be first time in a while I'll be able to take my time to shower and eat breakfast." Jake laughed.

"Yeah me too. Anyway, I'll see you later man!" Tex said walking into his apartment.

"Alright bud, catch you later." Jake said entering his own apartment.

He then showered and made himself a quick breakfast consisting of a bowl of cereal and a banana. As he ate, he switched on his small television set he had brought along with him.

As he flipped to a news channel, he listened to a Brittish reporter speaking about a new turn of events.

"The terroristic organization known as Retribution continues to make threats towards the sport known as sensha-do. They have continued to demand that if aircraft are to be fielded in the sport that only female pilots should be allowed to fly these aircraft." The reporter stated.

Jake frowned at the report. "Why in the hell would they be getting upset over something as silly as this?" he thought to himself.

He switched off the TV as he finished his breakfast, and then proceeded to don his new school uniform; a pair of khaki pants, a white button down shirt, and a green tie similar to the color of the female's skirts.

He again frowned as he saw his reflection in the mirror. "Still not too big on this uniform…." He thought to himself.

He then grabbed his leather flight jacket and put it on over the shirt, grateful that this had been approved for wear with the uniform. He then looked at his watch which read 8:30. He knew it was still early, but knew it best to be a few minutes early for anything, plus he needed to at least find where his homeroom was.

As he exited his apartment he took care to lock the door behind him and slung his back pack over his shoulder.

He walked peacefully along the streets of his new home and couldn't help but smile a bit, after all, he still would be able to fly and he had already made some new friends here as well. That was when he thought of Hana again.

Thinking of what she had said the day before, he looked down at his schedule to see he was in Standard Education Class 3-A. He remembered Tex saying he was in 3-C and Richard and Chris in 3-B. He grimaced as he remembered all four of them were in different classes.

It was then that he heard a voice from behind him.

"Good morning Jake-san!"

Jake turned to see none other than Hana bearing an elegant flower arrangement.

"Good morning Ms. Isuzu!" Jake replied giving an appropriate bow, but wondered why Hana had chosen to use English instead of her native language.

Hana blushed slightly and giggled a bit at his formality and said in in perfect English, "You can call me Hana if you prefer."

Jake blushed a bit as well before replying with, "Oh uh…right. Sorry about that."

She smiled and replied, "It's alright. I hope you don't mind me calling you by your first name."

"No, of course not! And you don't have to put an honorific after it. Just "Jake" is fine." He said smiling nervously.

"Alright…..Jake." she said before they both laughed a bit.

"So what's with all the flowers?" Jake asked curiously.

"Oh, the headmaster asked me to make a flower arrangement for one of the tables at the school welcoming ceremony."

Jake went wide eyed. "You made that?" he said in surprise.

"Mmmhmm." She nodded.

"It didn't turn out exactly like I wanted it, but I think it'll do just the same." She said with a smile.

"Wow! Well I'd say it turned out beautiful! That's some real talent!" Jake said speaking his mind.

Hana blushed again before replying with, "Thank you! My family kind of has a history in flower arrangement, so I guess you could say it runs in the family."

"That's pretty cool. I happen to come from a family of mostly crop duster pilots, so I kinda know what you mean." Jake said with a laugh.

Hana giggled before asking, "Crop dusting?"

"It's basically spraying crops with pesticides from the air. Nothing too fancy other than flying really low over a field and making darn sure to pull up in time!" Jake explained.

"It sounds interesting. I love doing flower arrangements, but it just gets a bit dull at times. That's actually why I started doing tankery in the first place; to be able to make my arrangements with more vigor, but also to stay a little more active." Hana replied.

Jake smiled and nodded.

"How about you? What made you decide to do aerial combat?" Hana asked.

"Well, partially for the same reason as you. But I also wanted to hone my piloting skills and maybe even become a fighter pilot in the Air Force one day. That's more or less why." Jake replied.

Hana smiled in approval.

Jake smiled back before he piped up again. "Oh yeah, do you know what class you're in?" Jake asked.

"Standard Education Class 3-A. How about you?" she asked.

"3-A. Glad now that I have someone I know in my class. The guys are all split off into different classes." Jake replied.

"Oh, I see. Well maybe Miho, Saori and the others will be in the same class too." Hana replied.

It was at that moment that they heard more voices behind them.

"Mako! Will you wake up already!"

Jake distinctly recognized Saori's voice and turned to see Saori along with Miho struggling to keep a rather drowsy Mako up-right.

Upon noticing Jake and Hana she greeted them both in her native language with, "Morning Hana, Jake!" She said whilst struggling with Mako's weight.

Miho then greeted them as well before Jake replied in Japanese, "Morning ya'll! What happened to Mako?"

"She had trouble getting up again…." Saori said.

"We didn't want her to be late on the first day, so we went to get her up this morning." Miho added.

Mako grumbled a bit before standing on her own, "I'll get to class on my own…."

She walked a few steps before nearly falling flat on her face. Thankfully, Jake and Hana caught her before she fell.

"You really ought to be more careful Reizei." Hana cautioned switching over to Japanese herself.

Mako grumbled a bit more but responded with, "I know….I know….."

Hana and Jake, accompanied by Miho and Saori, then helped Mako the rest of the way to the school, but Jake couldn't help but notice the whispering going on between Miho and Saori.

"So, what classes did you all end up in?" Jake said unable to take the silence any longer.

"Standard Education class 3-A! How about you Miporin?" Saori asked Miho.

"Same class!" Miho said excited.

"Same here." Mako said monotonously.

"That's wonderful! That means were all in the same class…..but what about Yukari?" Hana then wondered.

"Standard Education Class 3-A!" Yukari said running up behind them.

"Where have you been all morning?" Saori asked.

"I wanted to take another look at that Mustang they brought in the shipping crate! I guess I got a little carried away." She said rubbing the back of her head.

"Speaking of that Jake, how come they brought that one in a shipping crate instead of flying it in like with your Mustang?" Hana asked.

"Oh that…..well uh…." Jake said as he began to recall the memories behind "Pegasis," Cass's old Mustang.

"Is something wrong?" Miho asked.

"Well it's kind of a long story but," Jake was cut off by Sodoko as they neared the school gate.

"Still depending on others to help you get to school on time Rezei? Quite un-becoming of a third year you know and….!" Sodoko stopped short when she saw it was Hana and Jake who were supporting Mako.

"How dare you touch another student like that! I should give you five demerits and a detention for this!" Sodoko said storming up to Jake.

He stood his ground however, and replied calmly, "I'm only trying to help here. That's it."

Sodoko then huffed again and said, "Don't talk back! I knew that this would happen if male perverts were allowed into Oarai, and," she stopped short when Jake spoke up again,

"If you're going to discriminate against all males because of this, maybe you shouldn't be the head of the Public Morals Committee. It'd be pretty un-becoming of one of their members to discriminate based on gender now wouldn't it?" Jake said still supporting Mako.

Sodoko looked as though she were about to say something, but then sighed and said, "Fine, point taken. But I better not catch you or any of the other boys being perverts around this school or else!" Sodoko warned.

Jake nodded in approval. "Understood. As I said before, my squadron and I have every intention of treating everyone here with the utmost respect, so there's no need for an uproar."

"Fine, fine. But you had better start shaping up Mako! You wouldn't want to repeat your third year would you?" Sodoko said to Mako.

Mako grumbled again and trudged towards the entrance.

Hana then turned to Jake as they entered the shoe locker room.

"I'm sorry about what happened back there with Sodoko." She said putting on her indoor shoes.

"It's ok. I understand where she's coming from, so it's not a problem." Jake responded putting on his own pair of indoor shoes.

"It's like I said before, she'll come around as she gets to know you all." Miho said assuringly.

"Plus, once you start flying in our matches, everyone will get know you all a little better and things will be a lot smoother." Yukari added.

"Thanks you all. Well, we better get to class." Jake said looking at his watch.

As they got to the classroom, they looked at the seating chart and found their names. Jake was seated in the third row, third seat from the front with Miho seated to his right and Hana directly behind him. Saori was seated behind Miho, and Yukari and Mako were seated diagonally from each other in the first and second row. They all took their seats and waited for classes to begin.

"So what are the classes like?" Jake said turning to Hana and Miho.

"They're usually not too bad as long as you pay attention." Hana responded.

"That's about right." Miho said in agreement.

"Plus it's mostly just orientation and introductions the first day, so you shouldn't have any problems." Saori said.

The teacher then entered, and began with introducing herself as well as what the year would be like. She also then had everyone introduce themselves, including Jake and several other boys Jake recognized from Hub Zemke.

Classes went by quickly enough and soon the students were released for their lunch break.

Jake got up and gathered his things as Hana asked him, "Do you want to come and eat lunch with us?"

"Sure that'd be great!" Jake said smiling.

They all made their way into the cafeteria and sat down to eat their lunch. Jake was awestruck at the quality of the food and the girls seemed to notice his gawking.

"What's the matter Jake? Never seen a tray of food before?" Saori teased.

Jake laughed a bit before replying with , "Oh no, it's nothing like that. But if you'd have seen the caliber of the food back at my old school you'd know why I'm so impressed by the quality of this stuff."

The group all laughed before Hana piped up again. "What was it like at your old school?"

"Well it was pretty good until it got shut down. As ya'll know, it was an aeronautical school, so we had every kind of aviation schooling you could think of. Air traffic controlling, stunt flying, aircraft maintenance and repair, aerial combat, crop dusting, you name it we had it." Jake said reminiscing.

Miho then noticed the squadron's eagle and American and Confederate flag insignia on his flight jacket and her curiosity finally got the best of her.

"Hey Jake, what kind of squadron patch is that?" she asked pointing to it on his jacket.

"Oh, that's our squadron's patch. It's a bald eagle hence our name, Eagle Squadron, the American flag obviously represents our country of origin, and the Confederate flag is there because the vast majority of the squadron is from the American South." Jake explained.

"Oh, that makes sense now. But what about that other Mustang?" Yukari asked.

Jake got quiet again, and his eyes hit his tray.

"Like I said it's kind of a long story, but that was our former commander's old plane." He said removing the photo of him and his squadron after the aerial combat semi-finals.

The girls all looked at the photo.

In it, they saw the four boys standing with arms crossed in front of that same Mustang and kneeling in front of the boys was a brunette girl with green eyes who was giving two thumbs up with a gratuitous grin.

"Was this her?" Hana asked.

"Yeah. Her name was Cassidy Ryan, and she was one heck of a pilot. She was from Nashville, Tennessee and came to the school about two years before I got there. She led the squadron with a lot of discipline, but always left room for a good time so that we always enjoyed our time in the aerial combat team…..man those were the days….." Jake said trailing off.

"What happened to her? Did she graduate and move off?" Saori asked.

"I….I'd rather not talk about it….." Jake said quietly.

Hana noticed his apprehensiveness and said, "C'mon everyone, let's eat before our food gets cold."

Jake smiled weakly at Hana silently thanking her for changing the subject.

She smiled back in return, and Jake swore he saw another hint of red creeping up her cheek.

"Hey Jake!" said someone in English from across the room.

Jake looked up from his meal and smiled when he saw his wingman. "Hey ya Tex! How's life in 3-C?" he responded in English himself.

"Boring! Plus, these uniforms are kinda scratchy! Can't wait until practice this afternoon though!" he said excited.

"Yeah me neither," Jake said as he remembered the girls.

"Oh, Tex, meet the girls of Anglerfish team, the Panzer IV's crew. You already know Miho the commander, then Hana the gunner, Yukari the loader, Mako the driver, and Saori the radio operator." Jake introduced his new friends.

Miho smiled, and Hana followed suit. Yukari snapped off a salute, and Mako nodded as she stuffed her face.

Saori however, was staring right at Tex.

"Nice to meet ya'll! I'm…." Tex stopped short as he caught sight of Saori.

"Tex….Eagle….4….aerial recon….specialist…." he all but stuttered unable to take his eyes off of Saori.

Jake chuckled under his breath. Tex looked like he was about to explode, and Saori looked like she was melting under Tex's gaze.

Saori then stood and blushed as she bowed slightly to Tex and said in her best English, "N-Nice to meet you Tex-san."

"Oh uh…n-nice to meet you Saori." Tex stuttered.

Jake looked at Hana who was giggling a bit herself and smiled.

"Well uh…anyways Jake, Cap wanted me to tell you that our P-51's got moved to the tank sheds this morning, and they've got a makeshift runway constructed for us out there too, so we're all set for practice this afternoon."

"Alright Tex. Thanks a bunch, and you're welcome to come eat with us if you like?" he asked.

"Oh, well uh…" he said looking back at Saori.

"N-No thanks man, it's uh….a little hot in here….I'm just gonna go outside and uh…cool off…." He said sheepishly.

"Alright bud, see you at practice." Jake said.

"Alright then!" Tex said before bumping into a table and hurrying outside.

Hana, Miho, and Yukari all then laughed uncontrollably as Saori was composing herself.

She then looked at Jake with stars in her eyes and said, "You HAVE to introduce us again! Oh his accent is so cute! Maybe I should put on some lipstick before practice! Maybe I should play hard to get! But I wonder if he even likes me!? Or maybe I should-"

she was cut off by Hana who simply giggled and said, "Relax Saori. Judging by the way Jake's friend acted, I think you and him will be great friends!"

Saori frowned and said, "Hana, you are so clueless sometimes!"

The group all laughed once again but Jake still could hardly tear his gaze away from Hana.

He wondered if maybe she felt the same way he secretly felt about her.

* * *

As Jake and his new group of friends were sitting back down for their final classes of the day, it was announced over the intercom for everyone to gather in the gymnasium. "Well, it looks like the student council will be doing their introduction for electives again this year." Saori noted.

"I imagine they'll have a lot more to cover since all of Hub Zemke's electives came over with us." Jake commented.

"But knowing the student council, they'll probably focus mostly on tankery, and probably aerial combat." Yukari joked.

As the entered the gymnasium, Jake spotted Hana's arrangement on one of the tables and smiled approvingly at her.

"That arrangement really did turn out nice Hana." Jake complimented her.

She blushed and smiled back as she replied, "Thank you! That really means a lot."

Jake noticed Saori smiling slyly at him and Hana as she whispered something to Miho again.

As they all took a seat on the floor, Jake noticed Richard come up to where he and the girls were seated.

"Starting to get a little crowded in here." He said as he plopped down beside Jake.

"You ain't lyin Cap! Anyway, you met the girls yet?" he said gesturing towards Hana and her friends.

"Yeah, I met most of them last night. Good to see you all again!" he said greeting them all.

"So how's classes in 3-B been?" Jake asked.

"Nothing too exciting….apart from when Chris got slapped by one of the girls on the volleyball team earlier!"

Jake laughed.

"What happened?"

"Remember how he never paid attention in the language classes before we came here? Well, I think he said one thing and meant another, and whatever he said, it wasn't good!" Richard said chuckling himself.

Jake cracked up at this before saying, "Well, he can't say I didn't warn him."

It was at that point that the student council walked up onto the stage.

Anzu sported her usual grin as she said, "Welcome back everyone! As you're all aware we're joined today by our new students and friends from Hub Zemke Aeronautical Academy, and with them comes some new and exciting electives!"

"As per usual, tankery remains the most popular elective, but we have a new elective that we think will be equally as popular by years end." Momo stated.

The trio exited the stage as the lights were dimmed and a video began playing on the screen.

Jake immediately recognized the footage as footage of himself and his squadron during Cass's time with the squadron.

The video was accompanied by Yuzu giving a background speech about aerial combat, while Brother Fire-tribe's cover of "Chasing the Angels" played quietly as background music.

Jake grinned and nudged Cap as he saw the footage from his gun camera of his kill on a German Me-262 jet.

The video concluded with a flyby with the entire squadron in a perfect V formation trailing red, white, and blue smoke.

The student council then walked back up onto the stage with Colonel Jenkins in tow.

"Due to the shortage of qualified pilots, the aerial combat team will only be crewed by the four pilots who already comprise it for now. However, training will be available this year for those who wish to make the team next year. Eagle Squadron, if you would please stand." Jenkins said.

Obediently, Jake, Cap, and the other two pilots stood.

As all eyes were on them, Jenkins said, "These four pilots will be your trainers if you choose to take aerial combat as your elective, and it is without reservation that I say that the tankery team will have the most qualified and best pilots for the Tankery Nationals this year!"

A roar of approval erupted from the crowd. "Speaking of tankery, who wants to take it as an elective this year?" Anzu said to the crowd. An even louder roar came from the room.

"Well, it looks like we'll be getting some new tank crews." Hana noted.

"We'll have to get new tanks though." Yukari said.

"Hopefully we'll be able to get some money for new tanks, or maybe there are still some lying around on the ship that we haven't seen yet." Miho thought.

Finally the ceremony was over, and the students were released for the day.

Jake, Cap, and the girls all stood and were about to head to the tankery sheds.

"Crap. I left my back-pack in the classroom. I'll catch up with you all later at the sheds!" Jake said turning to go and retrieve his back-pack.

"Alright Jake. See you in a few!" Cap replied.

As Jake reached the classroom he smiled as he found his back-pack was still there. Slinging it over his shoulder, he walked towards the tankery sheds again wondering what the tankery season would bring.


	4. Chapter 4

**Oarai Tankery Sheds. 1500 hrs.**

As Jake entered the tank sheds, he smiled pleased as he saw his Mustang sitting in one of the hangar bays.

Next to his Mustang was his squadron talking amongst themselves and upon noticing him, Richard spoke up.

"Hey Jake! C'mon over, we've got a present for you!" he said gesturing to Jake.

He walked over to where his teammates had a large box of new flight suits complete with Oarai's crest emblazoned on the left front of the suit, as well as the squadron's eagle insignia on the right. The American flag was also displayed on the right shoulder with the Japanese flag below it, and each squadron member's respective call-sign number was emblazoned in yellow on the left shoulder.

"Pretty fancy! When did these get here?" Jake asked examining his new suit complete with the number "02" on the left shoulder.

"Just this morning. Colonel Jenkins said we'd be having a skirmish today to show off the squadron, and he wanted to make sure we were well equipped." Richard joked.

"Awesome! Well I'm dying to get airborne again myself, so this works out great!" Jake said.

"Well we better get changed before the girls get here." Cap said.

With that they all quickly changed out of their uniforms and into their new flight suits.

As Jake took his flight helmet out of his back pack, Chris smirked and asked him, "So Jake, I hear you got a target lined up already!"

"What!?" Jake asked surprised.

"C'mon dude! It's no secret you like that PzIV's gunner, Hana I think it is." Chris stated.

"I uh…I don't know what you're talking about." Jake said trying to fake it.

"Oh give it up already Jake. We both know you can't lie, you like her admit it!"

Jake sighed.

"Alright, fine. You win, I like her." He caved.

"I knew it! Now you just gotta ask her out!" Chris said.

"Isn't it a little soon for that?" Jake said.

"He's got a point there Chris." Tex said.

Yeah...but you ought to do it sooner than later! You never know when another handsome gentleman like myself might snag her before you do!" Chris boasted.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure we all know how the last girl you tried to ask out ended up." Cap grinned.

"Hey, that wasn't my fault! She just mis-understood me!" he protested.

"I told you to pay attention in those language classes…." Jake said.

"Aw shut up Jake!" Chris yelled.

They all laughed before the rest of the girls accompanied by Ami Chono and Col. Jenkins entered the hangar. They all then formed up by team and squadron for the two commanders to address the team.

"Good afternoon everyone! Today, we'll be having a skirmish in order to see how the aircraft will play into the tankery matches, and so you'll be split into teams of four tanks and two aircraft." Chono stated.

Jenkins stepped forward.

"The following teams please step forward: Anglerfish, Anteater, Rabbit, and Duck. You all will be Team A. Your air support will be Jake and Tex, Ealges 2 and 4."

Said teams and squadron members stepped forward, and Jake thought himself lucky to be fighting alongside Hana and her crew.

"Finally, Leopon, Hippo, Mallard, and Turtle will be Team B covered by Richard and Chris, Ealges 1 and 3." Jenkins finished.

"Rules will be elimination style. All opposing tanks must be knocked out to win, so mount your tanks and aircraft!" Chono commanded.

With that Jake and Tex raced towards their Mustangs.

Hana ran into Jake before he boarded his plane.

"Guess I'll be covering you girls up there." Jake said nervously.

"Yeah, I guess so." Hana replied.

"Well, good luck down there, and Tex and I will make sure you guys don't take too much heat!" Jake said re-assuringly.

"Alright. Be careful up there too." Hana said.

Jake smiled as he did a quick pre-flight on his Mustang before climbing in and starting the engine.

Over the radio he heard, "All units this is Col. Jenkins. All tanks are to proceed to their starting points. Eagles 2 and 4 you are cleared for takeoff, Eagles 1 and 3 you will take off approximately 3 mikes behind 2 and 4. Aircraft will be using machine guns only for this skirmish, so tank commanders ensure that you and your crew are buttoned up during the match. Tower out." Jenkins said.

With that Jake slid his canopy closed and taxied out to the runway with Tex close behind.

"Eagle 4 this is Eagle 2, radio check over." Jake radioed his wingman.

"Eagle 2 this is Eagle 4, got you Lima Charlie over."

"Roger Eagle 4. Throttle up, and proceed to rally point, over." Jake radioed as he and his wingman took off from the newly constructed runway.

Jake was amazed at how quickly the ground crew had been able to construct the runway, and he was thankful that propeller driven planes like his Mustang didn't need longer runways like most jets to take off.

Once they were both airborne, Jake radioed Miho and her team. "Anglerfish, this is Eagle 2. Radio check, over."

Jake waited a moment before Saori answered him with, "Eagle 2 this is Anglerfish. We're reading you loud and clear."

"Solid copy Anglerfish. Eagles 2 and 4 are on station and ready to provide air cover over." Jake radioed back.

This time it was Miho who answered him.

"Eagle 2 this is Anglerfish. Once the match starts, we could use some aerial recon to figure out where the other team is, but you're cleared to engage the other fighters if you find them first."

Jake understood. "WILCO Anglerfish. Eagle 2 out."

"Eagle 4 we're gonna be counting on you a lot for the aerial recon over." Jake radioed his wingman.

"No problem Eagle 2. Aerial Recon is what I do best!" he replied.

The radio cackled to life again with Chono's voice.

"All teams, remember that tankery begins and ends with a bow. So bow!" she commanded.

"Let's have a good match!" Everyone resounded.

"Match start!" Chono said.

Jake and Tex then pulled up to 3,000 feet to get a better view of the battlefield.

Tex scanned the area with hawk-like vision looking for the slightest difference in the terrain, a tell-tale dust cloud, or crushed underbrush.

Then, he spotted them.

A dust cloud that was kicking up near the edge of the woods.

"Anglerfish this is Eagle 4, got eyes on two tanks at grid 0567 heading south, south-east along the wood-line over."

"Roger that Eagle 4. Do you have eyes on the other tanks?"

"Negative Anglerfish. Will advise if they are spotted over." Tex radioed.

Jake scanned the skies as Tex scanned the ground.

"I don't like this…" Jake thought to himself.

He knew that Chris and Cap were probably lurking around somewhere and he didn't want to be caught off guard.

* * *

Below, the crew of the Chi-Nu, or Anteater team was moving to intercept the two tanks that had been spotted by the two friendly Mustangs.

"The Char B1 is squarely in our sights!" said Piotan.

"Fire!" Nekota yelled.

BOOM!

The Chi-Nu rocked back as it fired a shell which lodged itself cleanly in the rear of the French tank.

A small white flag then popped out of its turret signaling it was knocked out.

"We did it!" Piotan said excited.

"Our first kill!" Nekota said.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-BOOM!

The Chi-Nu shook again as its engine exploded.

"What was that!? Momoga said.

Nekota popped her hatch in time to see one of the enemy Mustangs climbing away from the now knocked out Chi-Nu.

"This is Anteater team. We took out the Char B1, but we got taken out by the enemy Mustangs." Nekota radioed to her teammates.

"Copy. Is everyone ok?" Miho radioed back to her teammates.

"We're all fine here! Thanks for asking!" Nekota responded.

Miho breathed a sigh of relief but then set her mind back to the current situation.

"Mako, bring us to grid 0567. Hana, Yukari, load an AP shell and be ready to fire on my signal. Saori, contact Jake and Tex, and see what they can do about the other Mustangs." Miho began giving out orders.

"Ok." Mako said in her usual monotone voice.

"On it!" Saori responded.

"Will do!" Yukari said.

Hana simply nodded and buried her face in her gun-sight. She had once again entered her zen-like state and was focused on landing every shot she fired.

Secretly though, her mind drifted skyward towards Jake.

"I hope he's ok…." She thought.

Above, Jake spotted Chris climbing fast away from the burning Chi-Nu.

The radio then came to life with, "Eagle 2 this is Anglerfish! Anteater team is down, and request air support immediately!"

Jake recognized Saori's voice.

"Anglerfish this is Eagle 2, got eyes on one bogey at vector 120. Moving to engage, but it looks like you got two more tanks coming out of the wood-line to your nine o' clock! I'm sending Eagle 4 to intercept. Over." Jake responded.

He then radioed his wingman.

"Eagle 4 I'll go after Chris, while you engage the tanks. Do what you can, but keep your eyes peeled for Cap. He's still out there somewhere." Jake cautioned.

"Copy that Eagle 2. Eagle 4 is rollin' in!" He said before rolling over and diving towards the Porsche Tiger.

Jake then climbed after Chris and immediately locked on to his tail.

Chris tried several maneuvers to try and force Jake to overshoot, but Jake matched his every move and stayed on his tail.

Down below, Leopon team was startled when they felt the impact of fifty caliber rounds slamming into the side of their tank. Then, they felt their treads shudder and give way. The Mustang had managed to de-track them.

"This is Leopon team. We've been immobilized." Nakajima radioed to Momo in her Hetzer.

"Roger Leopon. Get it fixed on the double!"

"Right!" Nakajima called back, but just as she was about to exit her tank, it was knocked sideways by the impact of rounds from both of the Rabbit team's M3 Lee's guns.

Nakajima poked her head out of her hatch to see the white flag had deployed.

"Leopon team here. We've been knocked out." She called again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jake had finally managed to pull enough lead on Chris. He fired his guns and let loose a stream of tracer fire from his six fifties.

Then to his delight, the opposing Mustang's red knock-out smoke deployed.

"Eagle 2, splash 1. I say again, splash 1!" Jake radioed back to his team.

"Eagle 2, this is Eagle 4! Bogey on my six and I can't shake him!" Tex called back frantically.

"Hang in there Tex, I'm on my way!" Jake called back as he firewalled his throttle.

Tex barrel rolled, jinked left and right, but it was no use.

He got peppered by Richard's guns again and again.

"Eagle 2 need assistance now!" Tex radioed.

"Hang in there Eagle 4! I'm almost there!" Jake called back.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-POP!

Tex looked behind to see red smoke trailing behind him.

"Dammit! Eagle 4 is down!" Tex radioed.

"Shit!" Jake cursed.

But he was quickly in the sights of Richard in his state of frustration.

Snapping himself out of his tantrum, he kicked his Mustang into full throttle and climbed to gain some altitude for the dogfight he was sure that would ensue.

But he smiled under his oxygen mask, for dogfighting is where he shined.

As the two pilots passed each other Jake broke hard left to get on Richard's tail.

But Jake had miscalculated his speed and somehow Richard managed to pull a tighter turn to get onto Jake's tail.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rabbit and Duck teams were locked in a firefight with Turtle and Hippo teams.

Hippo then fired another round which hit Duck team's Type-89 squarely in the front armor plate. It rocked back from the impact, and its white flag deployed a second later.

"This is Duck team, we're out." They radioed back to Anglerfish team.

The girls of Rabbit team were now beginning to panic.

Anglerfish team was still a good distance away from their position, and they were the only ones left against the STuG III and the Hetzer.

"What do we do now!?" Ayumi panicked.

"Keep shooting!?" Aya wondered.

"Anglerfish, we need help!" Azusa radioed as her crew fired at the Hezter just glancing a shell off of its frontal armor.

"Anglerfish is on the way Rabbit! Hang tight!" Saori radioed back.

Rabbit then fired another salvo at the Hetzer and managed to knock it out before being knocked out themselves by the STuG.

Miho grimaced as now it was just down to her and Erwin's team. She knew the STuG would be a tough nut to crack.

"Saori, put me through to Jake."

"You're on!" Saori replied.

"Eagle 2, can you provide a strafing run?"

"Negative. Got a bogey on my six, but I'm about to lose him!" Jake said.

All they girls looked at each other bewildered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jake and Cap were duking it out at 5,000 feet above the battleground.

Jake knew he had lose Cap and help the girls below.

Then he thought of Hana.

"I 'm not gonna let her get knocked out." Jake thought.

He then decided to call on an old technique he'd practiced a few times, but it was a real gamble. It called for literally stalling the plane, and he would be lucky to actually get a good burst in as Cap passed in front of him.

But none-the-less, he knew he had no choice.

As Richard closed in, Jake reduced his throttle and yanked back hard on the stick as he hit full bottom rudder. As he did so, he squeezed the trigger on his machine guns.

His six Brownings tore into Richards Mustang as he shot past Jake and his red knock-out smoke deployed.

Richard sighed as he radioed, "Eagle 1 is down."

Jake then recovered from the stall the maneuver had put him into and saw Richard trailing red smoke. "Eagle 2, splash 2!" he called to Anglerfish.

* * *

"Eagle 2, we've got one tank left, and a lot of open ground between us. Can you provide air cover?" Saori radioed Jake.

Jake then got an idea.

He looked over the ground and saw where Anglerfish was sitting at the edge of a woodline.

He also saw the STuG on the opposite woodline just out of range of the PzIV's gun. It was again a daring move, but Jake felt it was worth it.

"Anglerfish, I've got idea. Can you put me through to Hana?" Jake asked.

Saori was surprised, and so was Hana, but she picked up the comms and asked, "Hana here, what have got in mind Jake?"

"You girls are on the opposite side of that field and that STuG can easily pick you off if you go out in to it. BUT, what if they weren't focused on you?" Jake asked.

"What are you saying Jake?" she asked confused.

"I'm saying I'm gonna give you a distraction. Pull out into the field just enough so that they think you're advancing, that way they'll reveal themselves as well. That's when I'll strafe them at low level. While they're focused on me, you can close the distance. Once I pull up, you can fire and knock them out. But be warned, you'll only get one shot so don't miss!" Jake said.

All of the girls understood.

"I won't miss." Hana said looking into her sight again.

"Mako, advance towards the STuG!" Miho commanded.

On the other side of the field, Erwin saw the Panzer IV moving up and smiled smugly.

"They're moving towards us on open ground! Perfect! Move into position to fire!" she commanded her team.

As Jake saw the STuG moving out of the woodline, he rolled over and dove towards the enemy tank.

He leveled off at fifty feet using an old crop dusting technique he had learned from his grandfather, and once the STuG was in his sights, he cut loose with his machine guns.

Erwin and her crew couldn't believe that Jake was flying so low, and much less that he would waste his ammunition when his fifty's wouldn't penetrate the STuG's armor.

Back in the Panzer IV, Mako had gunned the throttle and the tank was charging towards the STuG.

"One shot. That's all I need." Hana thought to herself.

She watched as Jake peppered the STuG with tracers, waiting for the moment he pulled up to fire.

Jake then sucked the stick back into his chest and pulled up sharply.

Hana then ceased her opportunity as Mako hit the brakes.

BOOM!

The Panzer IV's gun roared as it sent its projectile hurtling towards the weakest point in the STuG's armor.

It rocked back from the impact, and then its white flag deployed.

"All Team B tanks and aircraft are non-operational. The winners are Team A!" Chono announced over the comms.

Jake smiled pleased as he heard this.

He then looked down to see the girls of Anglerfish team popping their hatches and congratulating each other.

He then decided to try something new. He leveled off at 100 feet, and barrel rolled over the Panzer IV and rocked his wings in salute.

Hana smiled up at the sleek fighter, knowing it was in large thanks to its pilot that they had won.


	5. Chapter 5

Back at the airfield/tank hangar, the other three pilots had already landed, and Jake was just touching down. Hana and her crew were just getting back as well as Jake taxied to where his three other squadron mates were making repairs on their craft.

"You are one crazy son of a bitch Jake!" Richard said as Jake climbed out of his Mustang.

He smiled sheepishly and replied, "Just doing what I was trained to do Cap."

"I'd say that was a lot more than what you were trained to do! Anyway, good job out there!" he said extending his hand.

Jake shook it gratefully and then walked back to the mouth of the hangar where he was met with the ecstatic girls of Anglerfish team.

"That was incredible!" Hana complimented Jake.

"Thanks! That was some awesome shooting down there too!" he replied.

Both blushed at each other's compliments before Jenkins and Chono approached.

"Well done today, all of you! I would dare say that was possibly more interesting than your match with Kuromorimine last year!" Chono praised them all.

Jenkins then piped up. "I also have to hand it to you Jake, that was some fancy flying. I haven't seen maneuver executed that properly since…since Cass…." He slightly trailed off.

He then recollected himself and said, "But at any rate, fine job all of you! I think we should be more than ready for the first round in the Nationals!"

A cheer erupted from all of the teams before Momo and the rest of the student council silenced them all.

"That will be all for today. Dismissed!" Momo said.

"Good work everyone!" the crowd said with a bow.

"We'll make sure to have all the tanks ready again for the first round!" Nakajima said as she and the rest of the Automotive club storked off into the hanger to begin repairs on the tanks.

Jake smiled as he gathered the rest of his things from his Mustang, but then stopped short when he saw Cap mulling lugubriously over "Pegasis."

Jake walked over to where he was standing by the Mustang and asked, "You alright Cap?"

"Yeah, of course!" he replied, though Jake knew he wasn't telling the truth.

"C'mon Cap, we both know that's not true." Jake persisted.

He sighed before saying, "Was just thinking a lot of her today. You pulled off that stunt just like Cass used to do, and it just brought back a lot of old memories." He said smiling at Cass's old Mustang.

Jake understood.

He remembered the day when he had been walking back to the aircraft hangar the previous year, and had caught Richard and Cass in quite the lip-lock. He had been made to swear to keep their relationship a secret due to Cass's position as squadron commander and Richard's as sub-commander.

"I understand." Jake said understandingly.

"It gets hard for me to think about sometimes too Cap. She was a real mentor to me, and she literally taught me everything I know about dogfighting." He continued.

Richard chuckled. "Well it sure shows flyboy!" he joked.

The duo laughed before they heard the voices of the student council behind them.

"I wonder how many new tanks we'll need?" Anzu pondered.

"With as many applications that we received today, it looks like three to four." Momo stated.

"We'll have to come up with some money first." Yuzu said.

"Well, then why don't we sell that other Mustang? It's not like they boys use it, and plus, it'll be a whole other year before we get more pilots anyway!" Anzu suggested.

Jake and Richard spun around quickly, appalled at the president's comment.

"NO!" they both said at the same time.

All three girls were stunned at the boy's sudden hostility.

"No!?" Anzu repeated astounded.

"Did you just question the president!?" Momo said now getting angry.

Every eye in the tank hanger then turned to the boys and the student council for the argument that was sure to ensue.

"Under no circumstances are you to EVER sell that Mustang!" Richard stated.

"Oh really? And why is that?" Anzu said sarcastically.

"Because it belonged to our old commander!" Jake backed up Richard.

"Get over it! She's probably graduated and moved on, and" Momo was cut off by Jake.

"You don't get it do you!? Cass is DEAD! She never got the chance to fly in the finals with us, or even graduate high school! We kept her Mustang in her memory, and it's all we have left of her! So sell any other Mustang you want, but leave "Pegasis" alone!" Jake boomed.

Everyone was startled by Jake's sudden outburst.

Jake instantly regretted losing his temper as he saw the astonished expressions of everyone around him.

He hung his head in shame before Hana approached and stood by his side.

"He's telling the truth." She stated firmly.

"Hana, what are you do-" Jake started to ask.

"Show them the photo you showed me earlier." She persisted.

He then withdrew the old photograph of Cass and the squadron he had and passed it to Anzu.

She examined it before becoming wide-eyed, and said. "I….I see…."

"We don't mean to be rude Miss President, but Cass was a mentor and friend to all of us in Eagle Squadron, and she stuck her neck out for us many times. That's why we acted the way we did." Richard stated.

"Well, you do have proof of what you say." Anzu said passing the photo back to Jake.

"We'll see if there's any other way to get money for the tanks." Yuzu reassured them.

"But don't think I won't forget that outburst." Momo said glaring at Jake as the trio exited the hanger.

Jake sighed and pocketed the photo.

"You really didn't have to do that you know…." Jake said to Hana.

"I know, but that wasn't right of them at all! It was almost like when they tried to force Miho into doing tankery when she didn't want to last year!" she stated.

Jake went wide eyed in surprise.

"Wait, Miho originally didn't want to do tankery?" Jake asked confused.

"It's not really my place to say, but Miho had a really bad experience with tankery the year before she came to Oarai." Hana explained.

"I see. Well, whatever it was, she sure is lucky to have come to Oarai and met you and the rest of your team." Jake said smiling.

The two were then joined by Miho, the rest of Anglerfish team, Chris, Tex, and the girls of Hippo and Rabbit teams.

"Hey, we were all thinking of going to get some dinner. Want to come along?" Miho asked.

"Yeah that'd be great!" Jake said.

As the group walked out of the shed, Chris rubbed a fresh slap mark on his cheek.

"What happened there Chris? That looks fairly fresh…" Jake noticed.

"Well, uh….see what happened was…" he began as they passed the girls of the volleyball team.

Upon noticing Akebi, Chris sheepishly said in English, "I really am sorry…."

"Hmph!" Akebi responded walking off with her comrades.

Jake chuckled and asked, "I take it the apology didn't go so well?"

Chris just glared at Jake before Jake reassured him, "Don't worry man, just brush up on your Japanese a little, and maybe she'll come around."

"Whatever Jake!" Chris boasted.

The teams all then arrived at one of the restaurants near the school and promptly sat down in two of the larger booths.

Jake sat alongside Tex and the girls of Anglerfish and Half of Rabbit team, with Hippo, the others three members of Rabbit and Richard and Chris seated in the other booth.

All chatted and amongst themselves throughout the course of the meal, and Jake found it hard to keep from laughing as Saori was still adamant in her pursuit of Tex.

"So, is Texas really that big?" Saori asked wide-eyed.

"Sure is! It's the largest state in the U.S!" Tex responded proudly.

Saori again seemed to be melting as Tex looked at her, and Jake couldn't help but chuckle.

He nudged Hana and said, "I think Saori might have a bit of a thing for my wingman."

Hana giggled and responded, "She's been looking for a boyfriend for a while now, so I guess it's only natural that she'd jump at the first boy that's actually paid her any attention."

Jake laughed.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Jake said.

Hana then asked Jake something that caught him off guard.

"What about you Jake? Have you ever had a girlfriend before?" she asked.

Jake jumped a little at the question before responding.

"Yeah, I had one relationship my sophomore year. It wasn't anything serious mind you, but a relationship all the same." He offered, but wondered as to why she had so suddenly asked such a question.

"What about you Hana? Any lucky guys in your life?" he joked.

"No not really. Saori used to think Shinzaburo, one of my family's apprenticeships, was my boyfriend but he's nothing more than a friend." Hana responded.

Jake was a bit taken aback. Hana, never had a relationship?

"Well, I don't believe you've never had a boyfriend before Hana. You're too beautiful for peace sake!" Jake spoke his mind.

He then realized exactly what he had said and turned redder than a tomato.

Hana blushed just as bad before Jake said, "Uhh…s-sorry I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's alright. I'll take that as a compliment and…..it was really nice of you to say…." Hana cut him off.

The rest of the meal, Jake had to admit, was a bit awkward but all seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

Finally everyone went their separate ways except for Jake, Tex, and Miho who surprisingly lived about a block away from the duo.

As they walked, Jake decided to ask Miho about something he had been curious about since earlier.

"Hey Miho?" Jake began.

"Yeah?" she responded.

"Hana mentioned earlier about you not wanting to do tankery originally. Was it because of that accident in the Kuromorimine vs Pravda match?" he asked.

"How do you know about that?" Miho asked confused.

"We all saw that match on TV the year it happened. Tankery is something the squadron used to watch in our down time." Tex explained.

"Yeah, and I know it's probably been said before, but I think you made the right call during that match." Jake added.

"It's exactly what Cass would've done if any of us flyboys had been in trouble too. She always said that you never ever leave a fallen comrade." Tex said.

Miho smiled a bit before replying, "Thanks! I really don't know what to say but, it's nice to know people still think I made the right call."

"Well, you've got the Eagles respect for that…Commander!" Jake said snapping off a quick salute.

Miho laughed again before waving to the two boys as they went their separate ways.

Tex then let out a sigh which made Jake ask. "What's the matter Tex? Still starry-eyed from Saori?"

Tex grinned sheepishly.

"Y-Yeah…..you could say that…" he replied.

The two laughed again.

"But hey, you looked like you were makin' some progress with Hana too!" Tex joked.

"Aw shuddup Tex!" Jake said before reaching his apartment.

He sat down on his bed and thought hard about the events of the day.

He then remembered that the drawing for the first match would be that weekend when they made port.

"We're gonna have our work cut out for us…." He thought before finally going to sleep.

**Student Council Room, 2030 hrs.**

Anzu peered curiously at another file that read "Hub Zemke Aeronautical Academy" on the front.

She then turned her head to look at Colonel Jenkins who was standing directly behind her.

"So this is the one?" she asked.

"Yes." He stated firmly.

She then opened the file and her eyes went wide when she saw the photo of the pilot was the same girl in the photo Jake had shown her earlier. She was even more impressed at the file's contents. It read:

Name: Cassidy Ryan

Rank: Flight Major

Height: 5'2

Weight: 130 lbs

Blood type: O pos

Call-sign: Eagle 1`

Combat specialty: N/A

Flight Hours logged: 600+ hours in P-51D Mustang, 100 hours in F-4U Corsair, 20 hours in F-104 Starfighter, and 200+ simulator hours in F-15C Eagle.

Anzu was blown away. "They really were telling the truth..." she said as her eyes fell upon a small note at the bottom of the file. It read:

Pilot Status: Killed in accident on 22 March.

Anzu couldn't believe what she had read. "So…..where does that leave us then?" she asked the colonel.

"All I'm saying, or rather asking, on behalf of the squadron is that Cass's Mustang be left alone. That is all." He stated.

"Those are acceptable terms. We promise we won't sell "Pegasis." Anzu reassured him.

"But Prez, what about the new tanks that we need?" Momo asked.

"We still don't have enough funds." Yuzu chimed in.

"I wouldn't say that…" Jenkins said.

All three girls were confused.

"What exactly are you talking about?" Anzu asked.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment, I can show you." Jenkins said as he sat down at the president's computer, and produced a shipping manifest that was to arrive the next morning. In it, were the following shipments:

One: M-26 Pershing heavy tank

One: M5A1 Stuart light tank

One: Panzer V "Panther" heavy tank

Four: T-6 Texan propeller trainer aircraft

Two: T-38 Talon jet trainer aircraft

Four: CLASSIFIED

The student council was astonished.

"Why didn't you tell us about this sooner!?" Momo asked impatiently.

"More importantly, where did the funds for all of this come from!?" Yuzu asked.

"Before the school got shut down, we realized we wouldn't be able to retain all of our aircraft. So in light of this, we kept only the necessary planes needed for sensha-do and to train up and coming pilots. The funds we received from the sale of the other aircraft were put towards the tanks you see there on the list as a token of goodwill of sorts." The colonel explained.

Anzu then noticed the part which showed four of something that was "classified."

"But what about this?" Anzu asked.

The colonel grimaced.

"It reads classified for a reason Miss President. I don't have to tell you that there are certain things that even the student council cannot know. But I can tell you that the contents of the classified shipments will be for the safety and security of the ship and its students." The colonel reassured them.

"Hmmm….well at any rate, at least we've solved the problem of new tanks!" Anzu said relieved.

"Excellent! As I said before, they will be here by morning in time for the sensha-do and aerial combat demonstration for the students who have chosen to take those electives. Maybe even the boys can give you a quick flight if you like!" The colonel offered.

"Um…I'll think I'll keep my feet on the ground…" Yuzu said nervously.

"As will I!" Momo chimed in.

"I'll think about it." Anzu said devilishly.

Secretly however, she still wondered about the contents of the classified file. What could the colonel be hiding that was so essential to the safety and security of Oarai…..


	6. Chapter 6

**Oarai Apartment Complex, 0530 hrs. **

* * *

Jake again woke to the sound of his alarm going off, and once again headed out for PT with his squadron.

Instead of the run like the previous morning however, they resorted to muscular strength and conditioning with sets of push-ups, pull ups, sit-ups, and mixed weight training.

Finally upon completion, Jake returned to his apartment, and before heading to the bathroom to shower, he looked at his calendar.

Upon noticing the date he thought to himself, "I wonder if he remembered…" thinking back to a deal he had made with his grandfather about two years prior to coming to Oarai.

Eventually though, he finished up his morning routine and was soon dressed and heading towards the school.

He sat down in his seat and greeted Hana and the rest of Anglerfish team once they arrived.

"Morning Hana!" Jake greeted her as she took her seat behind him.

"Good morning Jake! How are you this morning?" she replied pleasantly.

"Pretty good actually. How bout' yourself?" he asked.

"Excellent! Plus, I'm looking forward to seeing how many new students joined the tankery team." She said.

"But I still wonder what we're going to do about new tanks." Miho said chiming in.

"Maybe there are still more laying around somewhere. I mean we did find all eight of the original one's just by searching around a little." Yukari suggested.

"You guys had to actually search for all of those tanks?" Jake asked astonished.

"Yeah. Our tank was the only one in the hangar when we started tankery back up, and it was in pretty bad condition along with the other four we found right away." Miho explained.

"It was sure a pain to clean that thing up at first too, but it got fun riding in it after a while!" Saori said.

Jake smiled.

"That really is something! You guys literally won the nationals with just the tanks you found lying around the ship?" Jake asked.

"I suppose you could say that. It was really all thanks to Miho's leadership." Hana said complimenting her friend.

"Ehh!? But I had a lot help! Your shooting was especially a contributing factor too Hana!" Miho said in response.

The group laughed a bit before the lesson finally started.

The classes eventually ended and lunch break came around.

Jake stood to leave before the loudspeaker came to life.

"Standard Education Class 3-A, Jake Housten, and Standard Education Class 3-B Richard Walker report to the student council room immediately."

Jake shook his head. He knew he was probably about to get chewed out for his outburst the previous day.

"I'll have to catch up with you all later I guess." Jake said to his friends.

"Ok. Take care Jake!" Miho said walking off with Yukari and Mako.

Hana and Saori had stayed behind however.

"Will you be alright?" Hana asked concerned.

"Yeah I'll be fine. Thanks for asking though, and Richard will be there to back me up anyways. Besides, what's the worst they could do to me?" Jake asked.

"The Ankou dance…." Saori said shivering.

"The what?" Jake asked confused.

"Oh! Nevermind…" Saori said.

"Well, at any rate, I guess we'll see you a little later then." Hana said as she waved to Jake.

"Alright. See ya'll!" he responded as he walked towards the student council room.

Upon entering, he saw Richard had made it there ahead of him, and Anzu was sitting in her desk chair flanked on either side by Yuzu and Momo.

Jake sighed and said, "Before you girls say anything, I'll go ahead and apologize for my outburst yesterday, I know I handled that the wrong way and-" he stopped short as Anzu cut him off.

"Actually, we wanted to apologize to you two." She said leaning forward.

Both boys were astonished.

"You wanted to apologize to us?" Richard asked confused.

"Yeah. We spoke with Colonel Jenkins last night, and he showed us this." Anzu said producing Cass's flight record.

Jake and Richard nodded approvingly.

"Like I said before, I promise we won't sell Cass's old Mustang, and there won't be any need to sell any of your planes either." Anzu said.

"Why is that?" Jake asked confused.

"Well, it turns out that your school arranged for three new tanks to be delivered to Oarai today using the funds they received when they sold off the aircraft they couldn't keep. There's also going to be six new trainer aircraft arriving today as well." Yuzu explained.

Jake and Richard both smiled.

"But don't tell the team about the new tanks yet. We want to surprise them!" Anzu said.

"Will do Miss Kadotoni. And thank you." Richard said.

"Right. And we'll make sure that we win this first match we have coming too!" Jake added.

"Speaking of the first match, I wonder what we should have them do if we lose?" Momo said.

"Hmm, the Ankou dance I suppose? It worked well enough after we lost to St. Gloriana in our friendly match last year." Anzu smiled smugly.

"The Ankou dance?" Jake asked curiously.

Anzu typed a few commands into her computer and motioned for the two pilots to come and see what she had pulled up.

"Prez!?" Yuzu asked surprised.

"You didn't!?" Momo asked in dis-belief.

What the two boys saw was a video of the Anglerfish team girls and the student council all dressed in tight pink anglerfish outfits doing a ridiculous sort of dance in front of the entire town of Oarai. Both boys burst out laughing, but Jake got extremely red when he saw Hana in the video. The anglerfish suit was tight in all the right places, and it was just about more than Jake could stand to look at!

"What are YOU staring at!?" Momo yelled in embarrassment.

"WHA!? Nothing I swear!" Jake jumped back in surprise.

"It better be nothing! And don't forget if we lose, it'll be YOU getting to do this dance!" she yelled again.

Richard smiled devilishly before piping up.

"We'll take that bet then." He said.

"Huh?" Anzu cocked her head.

"If we lose the match, Eagle squadron will do the Ankou dance in front of the whole school. BUT if we win, YOU have to do it!" Richard said pointing to Anzu.

She seemed shocked for a second but then smiled smugly and replied, "Mr. Walker, I accept your bet." She said shaking his hand.

"Prez!? Do you realize what you've just done!?" Momo said exasperated. "That means the only way we won't have to do that dance is if we lose!" Momo exclaimed.

"Oh relax Momo-chan. Even if we do have to do it, it's not like it's that embarrassing for us anyways!" Anzu said smirking.

"DON'T CALL ME MOMO-CHAN!" She boomed.

"You two are free to go. See you at practice!" she said.

Jake and Richard walked out of the student council room and went their separate ways to get some lunch.

Jake however decided to go down to the tankery sheds to see his Mustang. There was something he had to do anyway.

* * *

**Oarai Tankery sheds, 1215 hrs.**

Jake walked to the tankery sheds, and slid open the door to reveal his Mustang along with the eight tanks, and his squadrons three other P-51's.

He approached his Mustang and smiled pleasantly at the large black lightning bolt.

"Based off of the 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron….Grandad's old unit…" he mused to himself wondering if the old man had remembered their deal again.

He leaned against the fuselage and bit into a small sandwich he prepared earlier that morning. As he ate, he recalled many of the stories his grandfather had told him about fighting over islands like Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Philippines, and Japan itself near the end of World War II. He also recalled the many dogfights he had been through with this plane as well.

He smiled to himself.

"Wouldn't trade this old bird in for a rocket…." He thought to himself.

He was then pulled from his thoughts as he heard a voice echo through the sheds.

"Jake?" Hana asked in English as she entered.

"Huh? Oh, hey Hana. I'm over here by my P-51!" he called back to her.

"I thought I might find you here. I just wanted to ask how things went with the student council." She said worried.

Jake smiled.

"Thanks for your concern, but everything went really well. They actually apologized to Richard and I after they saw Cass's old record, and they promised they wouldn't sell "Pegasis." Jake explained.

"Really? Well that's wonderful news! I really wasn't sure what they were going to do, but that's quite a relief." She said as she gazed at Jake's Mustang.

Upon noticing, Jake said, "Is this the first time you've ever seen a P-51 up close?" he asked.

"Actually yes. I've really never been this close to any type of plane for that matter." She responded.

"Wow! Well in that case, why don't I show you around it a little?" Jake offered.

"You don't mind?" she asked.

"Not at all! That is, if you'll show me around your tank later!" Jake said.

"Alright, it's a deal!" she said shaking his hand.

Jake found it hard to keep from blushing though as he felt the girl's touch.

Jake helped her up onto the wing and motioned for her to climb into the cockpit. Once she had sat down, Jake started explaining things.

"That stick there in the center is used for pitching the nose up or down, and rolling left and right. Then the throttle is there by your left hand which controls the engine's power output. Those two pedals down at your feet there control the rudder which is used for minor adjustments to the left or right, and they also allow for steering while on the ground." He began.

"That's a bit different than driving a tank…" Hana said slightly confused.

Jake laughed.

"Yeah it is a little different, but it's really not that hard once you get the hang of it. I mean if Chris can do it…" Jake said before they both burst out laughing.

"So what about all of these gauges here on the instrument panel?" Hana asked.

"Those tell you things like your airspeed, altitude, oil pressure, fuel state, and engine temperature." Jake said pointing to each respective gauge.

"Oh I see. But how about your gun-sight? It's definitely a lot different from the strich sight I'm used to in the Panzer IV." She said.

"That's actually a gyroscopic gunsight. It's really neat because it automatically calculates the lead that you have to put on a target, so usually all you need is a quick burst." Jake explained.

"Speaking of that, how much safety is there for you in here? Our tanks are coated with carbon to negate the impact of the shells, but how does it work for fighters?" Hana asked a bit concerned.

"Interesting you asked that, but there's actually a lot more safety features than you'd think." Jake smiled.

"You see, while we still use mostly the equipment that was around during 1939-1945, a lot more modern features have been installed for pilot safety." Jake continued as he pulled out his flight helmet.

"The helmets and flight suits are all modern as well as the oxygen equipment that we need when above 10,000 feet. Also, the rounds that we use in our machine guns are blunt tipped, and designed to shatter upon impact. The on-board computer obviously calculates how much damage a plane has taken, and deploys the red smoke once a plane has been knocked out." Jake continued.

"But what about if you ever had to bail out?" Hana asked.

"That's where the most modern feature of this plane comes in; the ejection seat. If for some reason I ever had to bail out, I could just pull that level right umm…." Jake stopped short as he realized the ejection handle was right between Hana's legs.

"…there, and the canopy would fly off and the ejection seat would jettison me from the plane where I would parachute to safety." Jake finished his sentence, although red as a tomato.

Hana could be seen blushing equally as bad when she realized where it was as well.

."She stopped short.

"It would be really terrible if one of you got hurt…." She finished her sentence.

Jake was in dis-belief.

"Is she…worried about me?" he thought to himself.

"Hey! There you are!" Saori said walking in.

She blushed a bit upon seeing Jake standing beside Hana who was still seated the Mustang's cockpit.

"Oh uhh.. hey Saori! I was just showing Hana around the Mustang a bit." He said nervously.

Saori smiled slyly before replying, "Well at any rate, classes are about to start again, so you two had better get a move on!"

"Oh yeah!" Jake said before helping Hana out of the Mustang.

"Right!" Hana agreed as the trio darted back to the classroom.

As they settled back in for the remainder of their academic classes, Jake couldn't help but wonder again about his feelings for Hana.

"Would she even go for a guy like me?" he thought to himself.

He stole a glance behind him to see her pretty face as she was working some kind of math equation. He smiled slightly as he turned back around wondering again if there was even a small chance.

He had his head buried in a similar equation when Colonel Jenkins entered the classroom. He spoke with the teacher for a moment before he turned to Jake.

"Grab your things Jake, I need you and the rest of the squadron in the hangar to prep for the demo this afternoon." He said.

Obediently Jake gathered his things and followed the colonel back to the hangar where he met with the rest of his squadron. What he saw was another heap of shipping crates all with Oarai's insignia on them. Once the whole squadron had gathered together the colonel addressed them all.

"Good afternoon men. Today as you all know, you will be giving those who signed up for aerial combat their orientation flights. As such, I've acquired six training aircraft, four prop and two jets, for this purpose." He explained.

"What about those other crates?" Chris asked.

"Those three over there are new tanks for the girls. But keep that under wraps until they get here Lieutenant." Jenkins cautioned him.

Jake and Richard nodded to each other as they had previously heard about these. What confused them however were the four other crates marked with "U.S." and being hauled off below deck.

"What about those sir?" Jake asked pointing to the four mystery crates.

The colonel thought before answering.

"Defensive counter-measures for if this ship is ever attacked. Let's hope that we never have to use them." He responded.

Jake responded with "Yes sir." He knew asking for more information would be a bad idea.

"Oh and Jake, this came for you as well." Jenkins said handing him a letter.

Jake took it and his eyes went wide when he saw the return address.

"You boys should go ahead and get into your flight gear before the others get here. You'll be taking the sensha-do trainees up in the T-6's but after that, you'll be taking a select few who want a flight demo up in one of the T-38's. Dismissed!" he said as the boys saluted.

Upon returning to the hangar to don their flight gear, Jake nervously opened the letter hoping that its contents were what he expected them to be.

"Is that it Jake?" Tex said walking up behind him.

Jake grinned as he saw the contents. It was a document that read, "Proof of ownership" with a picture of the P-51D that he had been flying for two years now.

"Yeah….this is it!" Jake exclaimed.

"Looks like your granddad came through after all!" Tex said.

"What was that deal he made with you again?" Chris asked.

"Well, my parents and my granddad both got together with me when I was fifteen. They said when I turned seventeen, I could either have a new truck or this Mustang. I think you know which one I chose!" Jake said.

"That's right, I remember your granddad donated that plane to the school before you transferred in so you'd be able to fly it in aerial combat." Richard re-called.

"So I guess this means once you graduate, you'll get to fly that hot-rod right off the deck and back to the States!" Tex said.

"Yep! I plan to!" Jake said.

"But just what do you plan to do with it Jake? Turn it into a crop duster and take over your granddad's business?" Chris asked.

"Don't know. I'll just cross that bridge when I get there." Jake responded.

"Well, first thing is first, let's get through these demo flights!" Richard said as they finished getting into their flight gear.

Finally all of the new girls and boys who had signed up for tankery and aerial combat arrived and stared in awe at the new trainer aircraft and tanks. Yukari immediately went into a panzer high upon seeing the new tanks, and it took Miho and Hana a good fifteen minutes to calm her down.

While the girls were busy assigning the new tanks to the newest members of the team, Jake and his squadron were busy giving the four new pilots their orientation flights.

Jake had been assigned to a freshman named Mark Wimbler who had transferred from Hub Zemke as well. Chris was assigned to a second year named Charlotte Reynolds who was also from Hub Zemke, and Tex was assigned to a second year from Hub Zemke named Gordon Sheffield.

Richard however, had been assigned to the only girl from Oarai who had decided to take Aerial Combat over tankery.

Sakura Yamashita was her name, and she was a freshman with quite the attitude. Richard told how all through the combat maneuvers portion of the demo she had acted like it was nothing more than a roller coaster ride, whereas the other three had gotten particularly green in the face.

Finally the demos were complete and all four pilots landed with their trainees.

Jake helped a particularly exasperated Mark from the trainer and asked, "You ok? You look a little green."

Mark glared at Jake and replied, "YOU are INSANE!" before he began vomiting.

Jake laughed a bit before steadying him.

"Don't worry bud, you'll get used to the dense air." He re-assured him.

"It wasn't that, it was those crazy stunts you pulled!" he shot back.

Meanwhile, Colonel Jenkins approached the girls and asked, "Now that the demo flights are complete for our new pilots, would any of you like a ride?"

All of the girls whispered among themselves, the girls of Anglerfish team among them.

"Any of you guys thinking of giving it a try?" Miho asked nervously.

"Definitely not me Miporin but…." Saori said slyly looking at Hana who was gazing over at Jake as he prepped one of the T-38 Talons.

"Hana will!" Saori shouted as she shoved her best friend forward.

"Saori!? What are you doing?" she asked surprised.

"Just go! Besides, it'll give you some more time with Jake!" she chided.

"But…umm….." she protested now getting very red.

"JUST GO!" Saori again shoved her forward, mistakenly right into Jake!

"Whoa, easy there. You ok?" Jake asked as he caught her, but got just as red as Hana was in the process.

"Oh…ummm… yes…thank you." She finally spoke as Jake got her back on her feet.

"Ms. Isuzu, I take it you'll be flying with the Eagles?" Jenkins approached.

"Oh um y-yes I suppose…" she said nervously.

"Excellent! You'll need to go get a flight suit on before we can take you up, so please change quickly." He said as he tossed her a flight suit.

"I'll be waiting for you over there by that T-38. Don't worry, I promise you'll like it." Jake smiled re-assuringly.

Hana smiled back before walking off with Anzu, Yukari, and Ayumi who had also opted to take a flight. The girls changed quickly and made it back to the shed runway.

"Right then. Miss Kadotani, you will be riding with Richard in one of the T-38's, and Miss. Isuzu you will ride with Jake in the other T-38. Miss Akiyama will ride with Tex in one of the T-6's and Miss Yamagou will ride with Chris in another T-6. Mount up!" Jenkins called.

Jake helped Hana into the rear seat of the T-38 and noticed her apprehensiveness.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"Just a little…I've never flown before." She admitted.

"Well, relax. It's actually really fun and the view is great too." Jake re-assured her as he climbed into the pilot's seat.

He closed the canopy and radioed the tower for permission to take off.

"This is quite different from your Mustang." Hana noted as she looked around the plane.

"Well it is a jet!" Jake laughed as Richard took off in front of him.

"Talon 2, you are cleared for take-off." The tower radioed him.

"Roger that tower, over." Jake responded.

He then looked over his shoulder towards Hana.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess." She said smiling nervously.

"Alright, hang on." Jake said as he eased the throttle forward slowly at first applying just enough power.

"Alright, here comes the burner!" Jake said as he kicked the in the after-burner.

The T-38 thundered down the runway and rose quickly into the air. As Jake raised the landing gear and flaps, he turned to Hana.

"Have a look around." He urged her.

She nervously peered out of the canopy and she had to admit, the view was breathtaking just like Jake had said. The afternoon sun was just right in the sky and made the entire ship glisten on the ocean.

"Wow! It…it's beautiful….everything looks so small from up here…" she said entranced. She then giggled a bit before saying, "The forest almost looks like one big flower arrangement from up here too."

Jake chuckled again as they orbited the ship.

He also noticed how the sun was casting its light right onto Hana face making her angelic in appearance.

He sighed upon noticing this which made Hana ask, "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh uh…no it's nothing." He smiled.

She blushed before saying, "Thanks for bringing me up here, I really never thought it would look this beautiful from the sky, and it seems so peaceful up here too."

Jake nodded in agreement.

"That's what I love about flying myself. If you're not in a dogfight and just flying around, it's nice and peaceful up here." Jake said.

Hana smiled back before Jake realized he had been staring too long.

"So uh...how bout' I show some of the dogfighting techniques the team and I use?" Jake asked.

"Umm ok." Hana said.

"Alright, hang on tight." Jake said.

He then pulled the jet into a split-s maneuver and pulled out at 2,000 feet.

"That was….kind of fun!" Hana admitted.

Jake smiled.

"Oh don't worry, there's more!" He said.

He then climbed back up to 5,000 feet and went through a high yo-yo maneuver followed by several barrel-rolls. Once it was complete, Hana was surprisingly beside herself in laughter.

"What's so funny?" Jake asked.

"I just never thought that something like this would be so thrilling!" she said finally composing herself.

Jake smiled as they orbited the ship a final time before landing on the runway.

Since it was shorter than most runways, a small chute at the rear of the plane was used to slow it down once on the ground.

After he had taxied back to the hangar and switched off the engine, he helped Hana down out of the T-38.

"So what'd you think?" he asked.

"I really enjoyed it! Thank you!" she said smiling.

Jake smiled back before replying, "It was no problem! Maybe I can take you up again sometime."

Both blushed again before they turned to see the aftermath of the other flights. Anzu was smiling smugly while Yukari was greener than a toad.

Ayumi however, burst into the hangar with, "That was totally awesome!"

All laughed at the tom-boy's outburst before Yukari said, "That definitely wasn't a good idea…"

"Good work again today everyone! But practice for the nationals starts tomorrow!" Miho reminded everyone as they had about two days left before the drawing.

As Jake walked with his friends back towards the apartment complexes he talked with Hana some more about flying and the like.

"Well, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow Jake." Hana waved before she headed towards her block.

"Alright Hana. See you tomorrow!" Jake responded.

Eventually he made it back to his apartment and collapsed into his bed exhausted. He again thought of how Hana had actually flown with him, and how much she had enjoyed it. He smiled to himself and thought, "Maybe…"

* * *

**Several Days Later…**

Miho walked towards the stage and reached into the box that was full of numbers.

She finally pulled one out and held it aloft as the announcer called, "Oarai Academy No. 4! Pravda High School!"

Many whispers surrounded the room.

"A tough school from the start again!?" Momo asked in dis-belief.

"Relax Momo-chan, this time we've got our aces in the hole." Anzu said gesturing to the boys.

"Don't call me Momo-chan!" Momo complained.

Jake furrowed his brow at the sight of the girls of Pravda.

"Looks like we really do have our work cut out for us…" he thought.


	7. Chapter 7

**Oarai Tankery sheds, 1730 hrs. One day before Oarai vs Pravda match.**

"Good work again today everyone! Let's all do our best in the first match!" Miho said to the entire sensha-do team after their long practice session.

"Good work everyone!" the group all said with a bow.

Jake and his squadron stood by along with the rest of the commanders however to attend a meeting. Before he walked to the student council room he again spoke with Hana who had been on his mind quite a bit lately.

"Good work again today!" he complimented her.

"Thank you! You too!" she responded.

"So, how do you feel about the odds we're against?" Jake asked.

"Well, Pravda has some pretty powerful tanks, especially their KV-2 and JS-2, but they rely more on their sheer power than on tactics and skill. That's where I think we can beat them again!" Hana responded.

Jake smiled and replied, "Sounds like a plan. Any-who….."

Jake stopped short before he asked his next question.

It was something he had been planning on doing for a while, but couldn't quite muster the courage….until now.

"What is it Jake?" Hana asked curiously.

"Umm well….would you maybe wanna go hang out after the match this weekend, just the two of us? It wouldn't be like a date or anything, but I just wondered…." He asked wistfully.

"Oh, well…I'd love to!" she responded.

"Really!? I mean, great! Well in that case, why don't we just meet up after the match and go grab a bite or something?" Jake offered.

"Yeah…I'd really like that." Hana said now blushing.

"O-okay then. Well I uhh…better get to that meeting…" Jake said now getting red himself.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow." Hana said waving as Jake walked off towards the student council room.

Hana couldn't help but blush again before Saori appeared behind her.

"HE FINALLY ASKED YOU OUT! OH MY GOD!" Saori screeched.

"Ehh!? Wait Saori, it's just as friends, honest!" Hana said embarrassed.

Saori again crossed her arms and frowned.

"Then why did he ask you out in the first place!?" she demanded.

"Well ummm…" she began but couldn't find the words.

"Honestly Hana, you are so clueless sometimes! Once you two are alone, you need to confess already! It's obvious you like him, and he likes you! Just do it already!" Saori urged.

"Then why haven't you confessed to that Tex guy yet…" Mako said dis-interested.

"W-Well you see I…oh shut up Mako!" Saori said.

The group giggled a bit before heading back to their apartments.

Hana however stayed up a little later than usual working on a flower arrangement as she pondered her feelings.

"Is it too soon, or should I just tell him how I feel?" she wondered as she stared out her window at the stars.

She then turned back to her arrangement and continued to work until she had tired herself enough to sleep.

"I hope that I'm doing the right thing…" she thought as she drifted to sleep.

* * *

**Student Council Room. 1800 hrs.**

All of the commanders and squadron members sat in the council room as they discussed their plan for the upcoming match.

"It's only the first round, so Pravda will only be able to deploy ten of their tanks." Momo said.

"Right, but I'm betting they'll still deploy their KV-2 and JS-2." Erwin said.

"But we should be able to match most of their firepower now with our new tanks. Plus we won't have to fight them on the snow this time." Sodoko added.

"Commander, what do you think?" Momo asked Miho.

"Well, I don't think that rushing in like last time would be a good idea at all. Instead, I think we should try to lure them in, and take out their flag tank that way." Miho said.

"But what about the KV and JS?" Azusa asked.

"That's where we come in." Richard piped up.

"That's right. Eagle Squadron has the KV-2 and JS-2 as their priority ground targets, so that should even the playing field for us." Miho paused before asking her next question.

"What about the types of fighters we could be expecting though?" she asked curiously.

"Since they're a Russian-based team, we could expect anything from an I-16 to a Yak-9. But at least you won't have to put up with an IL-2 Sturmovik though." Jake explained.

"So what does this mean for us?" Momo asked.

"Well, planes like the I-16 aren't very good in a dogfight, but can carry more ordinance for use against tanks. The Yaks however, are far better opponents for the Mustang. They aren't as fast or maneuverable, but underestimating them would be a big mistake." Jake said.

"Due to this, we'll be splitting the squadron into two sections, ground attack led by myself and Chris and dogfighting led by Jake and Tex." Richard joined in.

"Tex and I will be set up for air-to-air combat obviously, but we'll still be carrying six rockets each just in case." Jake said.

"Cap and I on the other hand will be carrying two one-thousand pound bombs and six rockets each for the use against their KV-2 and JS-2." Chris said.

"Another thing the squadron and I were discussing is the experience of their pilots. Most likely, they won't have the experience in the cockpit that we have since this is the first time that fighters have been allowed into sensha-do. But that still doesn't mean we'll be underestimating them." Richard concluded.

"Right." Miho nodded approvingly.

She then reviewed the plan and once all were satisfied, the meeting was finished.

Jake walked back to his apartment with Tex wondering about the match once again.

"You think Cap is right about those Russian pilots?" he asked.

"Well, if I know Pravda, they're about a step down from Kuromorimine in their discrimination against boys in sensha-do, so most likely their pilots will be green females who probably have minimal hours in the cockpit, and no real combat experience. But like he said, underestimating them would be a mistake." Jake said.

"Heard that. I sure as hell don't wanna be shot down in the first match!" Tex said before smiling slyly.

"And I heard that you got yourself a date after the match…." he finished his sentence.

Jake spun around in surprise.

"And how do YOU know about that!?" he asked suspicious.

"A little ginger haired birdy texted me earlier and told me. She also said you better ask her out sooner than later!" Tex said.

"Yeah, well then when do YOU plan on asking out said ginger-haired birdy of yours?" Jake shot back.

"Hey! I'm doin' my best here man! I'm, just waitin' for the right time, that's all!" Tex protested.

Jake shook his head.

"Alright, I believe you. See you in the morning!" Jake said as he opened his apartment door.

He changed into his gym shorts and t-shirt and sat down pondering again about his feelings for Hana.

"Should I just go for it?" he thought.

But he quickly pushed those thoughts aside, for he knew that the match with Pravda would be difficult enough without all of that on his mind.

* * *

**Oarai vs Pravda match. 0800 hrs. One hour before match start.**

Jake and his squadron, along with the rest of the sensha-do team were all furiously prepping their tanks for the battle that was to come. Jake had already done about a half-dozen pre-flight checks on his Mustang to keep his nerves calm, and Richard and Chris were busy making sure that their two one thousand pound bombs and six rockets each were securely fastened under each of their wings.

The girls however were busy mounting their anti-aircraft machine guns on their tanks.

As Jake finished up with his last check on his Mustang, he noticed the girls of Rabbit team struggling to get an M2 .50 caliber machine gun up onto the turret of their M3 Lee.

"It's so heavy! I can't even pick it up!" Aya complained.

"But if we don't get it mounted, we won't have anything to use against the other team's aircraft!" Karina protested.

Jake smiled and walked over to them.

"You girls need a hand?" he asked.

All of their eyes lit up as they all quickly replied "YES PLEASE!"

Jake easily lifted the .50 cal up onto the rear of the tank before hopping up himself, and then mounted the machine gun perfectly.

Over by the Panzer IV Miho smiled as she watched the scene unfold. She also saw how the other boys had already helped several of the other teams mount their machine guns as well.

Hana was also watching, and thought to herself, "He really is a gentleman…."

She didn't realize she had been staring too long and Jake caught wind of her gaze.

Both blushed before Jake said, "How bout' you girls? Uh...ya'll need some help with your MG-42?" he asked getting hot.

"Oh, we um… have it taken care of. Thank you though!" Hana said nervously.

Jake nodded, then hopped down from the Lee and walked over to where Hana was standing.

"Alright, well are we still on to hang out after the match?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, definitely! I was actually looking forward to it…" she said starting to blush.

"Yeah…me too…" Jake said blushing as well.

They were both snapped from their daze when they noticed several people walking into their staging area. One was a very short blonde haired girl accompanied by a very tall dark haired girl, and another girl of moderate height and dressed in a flight suit.

"Mihosha!" the short girl called to Miho.

"Oh! Katyusha, how are you!" she said walking over to Pravda's commander.

"It would seem we'll be facing each other again this year." The sub-commander Nonna commented.

"Yeah, I guess so." Miho said.

Katyusha smiled and said, "I'll expect another interesting fight from you like last year Mihosha! Don't disappoint Katyusha!"

"Right!" Miho responded.

"Oh, I almost forgot. This is the commander of our fighter squadron, Valentina Petrankov." She said introducing the girl dressed in flight gear.

"Privet. It is a pleasure to meet last year's champion team commander. But I assure you that we will be victorious this year." She said rather cockily.

"Oh, well umm why don't you meet my airmen?" Miho said gesturing to the Eagles.

"This is Eagle Squadron. Richard Walker, Jake Housten, Chris Rowland, and Jeremy "Tex" Lyons." She said introducing them all.

The Russian girl huffed.

"A pity you allow males to fly for you. There are in all ways inferior to females as pilots. My squadron and I will prove this today." She said.

All of the boys clenched their fists and furrowed their eyebrows. That was when Jake piped up.

"You might wanna choose your next words carefully." He warned.

"Oh? Should I be worried? I myself have exactly thrity hours in my fighter of choice, how many do you have?" she asked matter of factly.

Jake smiled devilishly.

"Over five hundred in that P-51D behind me." He replied.

"Not to mention he's got three confirmed kills on Me-262's." Tex added.

Valentina was quickly taken aback.

"You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?" Chris asked.

"W-Well…..we will decide who the better pilots are in the air!" she said before storming off.

Katyusha then said, "Well you boys have done an excellent job of pissing off my pilot! Nonna!"

Nonna then scooped her up and placed her on her shoulders.

"I do however have to agree that boys _are_ inferior, and I'm surprised Mihosha even lets you fly for her team!" she said snootily.

"Wait a minute Katyusha, they're all actually really good! You don't under-" Miho tried to protest but was cut off again by Katyusha.

"Never mind that Mihosha! We will see who will emerge victorious this time!" she said before the duo exited the staging area.

Richard shook his head.

"I knew this was probably coming, but damn, that is one ornery little bitch!" he said before bursting out laughing.

"Miho joined in before saying, "She's really not that bad once you get to know her though. I bet once the match is over she'll come around."

"But don't forget the consequences if we lose this match!" Momo said pointing her finger towards the boys.

"We understand. But you'll be holding out your end of the bet once we blow every last one of their fighters out of the sky!" Richard said.

"Then you'd better deliver!" Anzu said slyly.

Miho then asked, "What sort of bet did you make with them anyway?"

"We sort of bet that if we lost, the squadron would do the Ankou dance…" Jake said.

"THE ANKOU DANCE!?" Saori burst out.

Hana gasped, and Yukari was wide-eyed. Mako could have cared less.

"Yeah…" Jake said.

"But if we win, the student council will have to do it!" Richard said.

"Eh? Well, that'll be a way to give them a taste of their own medicine, if we win that is." Miho said.

"Well from what I just saw, it's as we suspected. These girls are new and in-experienced and will probably not know what to do in real combat. We should be able to knock down their fighters fairly easily as long as we stay on our toes, then we should be able to knock out the KV and JS fairly easily." Richard said.

"Let's hope so." Miho said.

"Let's all just do our best!" Hana said.

Everyone nodded in agreement and headed back to their vehicles.

Miho then addressed the newest crews that were present, those being the crews of their M-26 Pershing and the Panther named Elephant and Rhino teams respectively.

"I know it's your first match, but just do your best and stay calm. I promise you all will do fine!" she said reassuringly.

"Well give em' a run for their money!" said the commander of the Pershing.

"Yeah, I think we can do it!" the Panther's commander agreed.

Miho smiled again and walked back to her friends and her Panzer IV.

"Let's all do our best." She said as they all placed their hands on top of the tank.

"Right!" they all resounded.

* * *

"Match start!" the loudspeaker called as a flare shot up into the air.

The tanks of Oarai and Pravda lurched forward from their starting point as Eagle squadron leveled off at ten-thousand feet.

"Anglerfish, this is Eagle Squadron. Over-watch established at angels ten, and searching bogeys. How copy, over?" Richard radioed to Miho.

"Eagle Squadron, good copy. Begin hunting." Miho responded before pausing.

She then keyed her mic again and said, "All teams, remember the plan. Pravda is most likely going to be moving towards us all at once, so were going to hide at point 0967 and ambush them there. Once the sky is clear, Eagles 1 and 3 will destroy the KV-2 and the JS-2 leaving us free to engage the flag tank. Remember not to reval yourselves until that time, and to protect the Anteater team, they're our flag tank."

"OK!" came the collective response.

* * *

As the Oarai tanks settled into their ambush positions Pravda was rapidly advancing.

"We'll crush them under our iron treads! Full advance!" Katyusha yelled.

"Isn't this a bit brash?" Nonna asked.

"Nevermind that! Besides, we've got our air cover to use against them if they try to escape like last time!" Katyusha yelled.

Nonna shook her head. The Russian beauty sometimes wondered why she even bothered.

* * *

High above, Jake scanned the skies for movement, or even a glint of metal.

"They're out there somewhere…" he thought to himself.

Just then, he saw something off the tip of his nose, four tiny specks with Pravda's crest emblazoned on the side. He immediately recognized the planes as three Yak-9B fighter-bombers, and one Yak-9D with a red nose.

"Tally ho on four bogeys, twelve o'clock low. Doesn't look like they've seen us yet." Jake radioed.

"Solid copy Eagle 2. We'll keep the sun behind us, and dive on em'. Eagles 1,3, and 4 will take the B variants. Eagle 2, you've got D variant." Richard radioed back.

"WILCO Eagle 1." Jake responded.

With that, all four Mustangs rolled over and dove towards the unsuspecting Yaks. Jake's Rolls-Royce Merlin engine howled as he lined up the leading Yak-9D in his gunsight.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

All four Mustangs cut loose with their six Brownings filling the sky with tracers.

Two Yaks immediately popped red smoke and were knocked out.

Jake managed to score a quick burst on the leading Yak before it broke off and tried to lose him.

"Eagles 2 and 4, you've got the remaining Yaks. Eagle 3 and myself are heading towards objectives Hammer and Sickle." Richard said referring to the KV-2 and JS-2 respectively.

"Roger Eagle 1." Jake said as he concentrated on the Yak.

"Will do Cap!" Tex said as he pursued the last Yak-9B.

* * *

Below, Miho had sent the Duck team out on recon while she and the other teams layed in wait in their ambush position.

Noriko furiously scanned the area for any sign of Pravda's tanks.

"This is Duck team, no sign of the enemy," she said before she heard machine gun fire and saw two Yak-9's trailing red smoke heading back to the airstrip. "but it looks like the Eagles just scored two kills." She said.

Then she felt the impact of a shell exploding nearby. She glanced to her right to see all of Pravda's tanks minus the KV-2 and the flag tank heading their way.

"Enemy spotted at grid 0854! They're heading straight for us!" Noriko radioed.

"Duck, how many tanks?" Miho asked.

"Eight total! The JS-2 is with them!" she said.

"Roger, you know what to do from here!" Miho said.

"We've got the enemy right where we want them, now let's finish them off with a killer spike!" Noriko said to her team.

"Volleyball!" they all exclaimed before gunning the throttle.

* * *

Above, Jake was still in hot pursuit of the red nosed Yak. As he had had the altitude advantage, he had easily slid in behind the Yak after the dive and now it was only a matter of time before he could pull enough lead to down it.

Valentina however, was beginning to panic in the cockpit of her Yak.

She was weaving back and forth trying to throw off the Mustang's aim, but got peppered by its fifties again and again. She knew that the Mustang could easily outperform her Yak at the current altitude of 5,000 feet, but then remembered that the Yak performed better at 2,000 feet.

She immediately nosed over and dove, but Jake had already anticipated this move.

He knew that the Yak was better at lower altitudes, but he also knew that his Mustang was better in a dive.

He easily kept pace with her as she dove and once she was squarely in his sights he squeezed off another burst into her tail.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-POP!

The Yak's red smoke was spewing out of its tail and Valentina was knocked out.

"Eagle 2, splash 1. Yak-9D is down, over." He radioed to his team.

At the same time Tex had caught the last Yak-9B in a wide turn, and hosed it with tracers.

Its red smoke immediately deployed.

"Eagle 4, splash 1! I just bagged me a Yak!" Tex radioed triumphantly.

* * *

Down below, Katyusha was getting more and more agitated.

"This is just like last time, chasing that stupid Type-89 all over the place! And why the hell haven't my Yak's found the enemy tanks yet!" she screamed before Valentina came over the radio,

"This is red leader, our fighters are decimated. Repeat, all our fighters are knocked out!"

"WHAT!?" Katyusha yelled.

It was at that moment that one of the enemy Mustangs roared over her head.

"DAMN YOU STUPID BOYS!" she screamed.

* * *

As Tex flew over the column of tanks chasing the Type-89 he radioed to the team, "Anglerfish, Eagle 4. Objective Sickle spotted with the main column of tanks heading straight towards you. They'll be right on you in less than a minute." He radioed.

"Roger that Eagle 4. Do you have eyes on Objectives Hammer or Msocow?"Miho asked wondering if he'd seen the KV-2 or the flag tank.

"Negative Anglerfish. Eagle 2, you got eyes on?" Tex radioed Jake.

"Negative Eagle 4. Eagle 3, how bout' you?" Jake asked Chris.

"No joy but….wait…..I might have something at grid 0432. Stand by." He said.

It was at that moment that the main column of Pravda tanks entered the kill zone.

Nonna took careful aim in the JS-2 and scored a knock out hit on the Type-89, but her success was short lived.

"Fire!" Miho said as Hana pulled the trigger for the 75mm main gun and the other teams opened up on the T-34's as well.

At the same time Richard rolled in and jettisoned both one thousand pound bombs right into the JS-2.

BOOM!

The entire ground shook under the impact, and the JS-2's white flag popped out.

"JS-2 is down." Nonna said emotionlessly.

The combined aerial bombardment from Tex and Jake's rockets also managed to knock out an additional two T-34's.

Hana had also managed to score a kill as well as Hippo, Leopon and Turtle reducing Pravda's numbers to only four.

Katyusha panicked and called for a full retreat.

As the two tanks fled the ambush Miho called, "All tanks advance! Let's finish them off!"

* * *

Meanwhile, as Chris flew over a dense wooded area, he spotted something that looked like a gigantic green box with a tube poking out of the end. He also saw a T-34 with a red flag attached to its turret and immediately knew he had struck gold.

"Objectives Hammer and Moscow sighted at grid 0432. Rolling in to engage Objective Hammer, over." He radioed.

Miho looked at her map in response and immediately formulated a plan.

"All teams, the enemy flag tank has been sighted at grid 0432. Teams Anglerfish, Leopon, and Elephant will go after the flag tank. Everyone else will continue to pursue the remaining two tanks." She said.

With that, said three teams broke off and headed straight for the aforementioned grid coordinates.

As Katyusha saw the other three tanks break off she knew something was wrong.

"They must have spotted the flag tank. Pursue them!" she ordered.

As the remaining two T-34's turned however, one was quickly knocked out from a shot from the Rabbit team.

"We did it!" Aya exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Chris was diving towards the KV-2.

He lined up the box shaped turret, and pressed the bomb release.

"Bombs away!" he called as he pulled up.

The bombs whistled through the air before they found their mark.

BOOOM!

The ground then shook again under the impact of the two one thousand pound bombs.

The KV-2's white flag then popped out showing its defeat.

"Objective Hammer neutralized!" Chris radioed.

Katyusha was now more irate than ever as she directed her crew to take as many pot shots at the Anteater team as possible.

She then radioed the flag tank, "Get out of there! Oarai's tanks are coming for you!"

With that the flag tank fish-tailed out of its concealment position and out into the open.

Miho then dropped into the tank and asked Hana, "Do you think you can hit the flag tank on the move?"

"It'll be difficult, but I can do it." She said.

Yukari then loaded an armor piercing round into the breech and resounded, "Loading complete!"

Hana buried her head into the sights of her gun and took careful aim at the zig-zaging tank calculating where it would be and how she needed to fire her round.

At this point Katyusha realized what was about to happen and yelled down to her gunner, "Forget about the Chi-Nu! Shoot the Panzer IV!"

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

The treads then snapped on Katyusha's T-34 as it careened away from the fray and ground to halt.

"That'll teach ya you shrimp!" Tex said as he climbed away from his strafing run.

"Good shot Eagle 4!" Jake radioed his Wingman.

"It's all up to Hana now…" Jake thought.

Then, the T-34 flag tank burst into flames as it was hit the armor piercing round from Hana's gun. Immediately it ground to a halt.

"Pravda's flag tank has been dis-abled. The winner is Oarai Academy!" The announcer called.

A collective cheer erupted from the tank crews as they one by one popped their hatches and congratulated each other.

Jake smiled under his oxygen mask as his squadron flew over the tank column in a perfect diamond formation.

"Anglerfish, this is Eagle 2, that was some fine shooting!" Jake complimented Hana.

"Eagle 2, this is Anglerfish, we couldn't have done it without you all!" Miho replied back.

* * *

Eventually all made it back to the staging area where Katyusha approached with Nonna and Valentina.

"You destroyed every last one of our fighters and our tanks! I-I'm not upset at all I'm just…" she couldn't hold back tears.

Nonna handed her a handkerchief and she blew her nose before composing herself.

"I suppose I take back what I said before about you male pilots." Valentina said as she extended her hand towards Richard and the rest of the squadron.

He gratefully shook it and said, "Apology accepted."

With that the rest of teams congratulated each other and Jake found his way over to Hana.

"That was some kind of shooting you did there at the end!" he complimented her.

"Thank you! And I heard you were able to shoot down their flight leader!" she said as she complimented him in return.

"All of the enemy's fighters and tanks destroyed with only a loss of one to us? I'm not even sure what to say!" Anzu said in disbelief.

"So does this mean you'll be holding up your end of our bet?" Richard asked devilishly.

"I suppose…"Anzu said.

"Prez, you don't mean?!" Momo said.

About an hour later the entire student council was dressed in pink anglerfish suits doing the accursed Ankou dance in front of the entire school.

Jake laughed hysterically at the president's plan that had backfired.

But then he set his mind back to another task at hand.

After he was changed into his normal attire of a t-shirt, blue jeans, boots, and his ball cap he met up with Hana for their pre-arranged hang out.

* * *

**Later that Day….**

Jake eventually found Hana again near the ship and was nearly speechless once he caught sight of her.

She too had changed out of her tankery uniform, and was sporting a summer dress with her hair down.

He walked over to where she was standing and she smiled when he approached.

"Hey Hana, you uh…look really nice…" he said nervously.

She blushed at his comment and replied with, "Thank you, and…you look…. exceptionally normal now!" she said upon realizing this was the first she had ever seen him in his civilian clothes.

They both laughed before heading off towards one of the town's sushi restaurants.

As they sat down, Jake began talking with Hana a little more about herself.

"So you're originally from Oarai?" Jake asked.

"Yes, I've lived here or on the school ship since I can remember. I'd like to travel a little though someday. How about you though? Is this the first you've ever been out of the U.S.?" She said in response.

"Yeah basically. I visited several other states in the U.S. before I started school at Hub Zemke. The _Kitty Hawk_ was based in Honolulu, Hawaii so I got to see there pretty frequently, but other than that, this would be my first time out of the States. But I really do like Japan so far!" Jake responded.

Hana smiled and said, "That's wonderful then! I'm glad you've enjoyed it here!"

Jake smiled back and said, "Well I've got a certain friend or two to thank for making it as enjoyable as it's been."

Hana smiled at Jake's comment before he asked. "So tell me a little more about your flower arranging. How long have you been doing it?" he asked curiously.

Hana thought for a moment before replying,

"Well, ever since I can remember quite honestly. My mother taught me everything she knew about it when I was younger and I've been arranging on my own ever since…." She stopped short when she remembered the day that her mother had originally found out that she had taken tankery as an elective.

"Since what?" Jake asked curiously.

"Well, my mother originally didn't approve of my doing tankery last year, and when I refused to give it up, she more or less dis-owned me…." She said looking down.

Jake's eyes went wide and said, "Oh, sorry I didn't mean to-"

"No it's alright. Actually, it was because of tankery that I was able to arrange my flowers with more vigor, and I developed my own style from it. I was able to make a really awesome arrangement, and my mother reconciled with me after that." She said smiling at the memory.

Jake smiled back and said, "That's good to hear! But I do have to say, if I hadn't known you did tankery when I first met you, I never would have guessed it!" he said with a chuckle.

She giggled a bit as well before replying, "I seem to get that a lot. I usually get told that I'm too stiff or uptight, but Miho said that I was very calm and mature when she first met me, so I guess I can see that."

Jake smiled at her as she gazed out the window.

She sighed a bit as she looked at a wisteria vine growing on a nearby tree.

"Wisteria, it's really beautiful isn't it?" she said upon notcing Jake's gaze.

"I'm guessing your favorite flower?" he asked.

"Mmmhmm." She said nodding.

"It's more or less a vine, but the purple flowers that grow on it are so beautiful." She said smiling.

"Not as beautiful as you are…" Jake thought to himself.

He began to wonder again if he should just go ahead and tell Hana how he felt.

Hana also seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Should I tell him?" she thought to herself.

"For God's sake Jake, just quit stalling and do it!" Jake thought spurring himself into action.

He slowly collected himself and turned to Hana.

"Hana?" he began.

"Yes?" she asked curiously.

"W-Well uh…I've been wanting to tell you something….but I'm not really quite sure how to say it…." Jake half stuttered.

Hana eyes went wide.

"Is he going to confess to _me?_" she thought.

"Oh, I see…well….there's actually something I had been meaning to tell you as well…." she said starting to blush.

"Oh..uh..really? Well, go ahead I guess." Jake said nervously.

"No, you first." Hana urged.

He sighed and began with, "Well Hana…I…"

Jake was cut off by a familiar voice entering the restaurant.

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you two!" Saori said entering with Tex, Miho, and Yukari.

"Saori ain't lyin' partner! I swear I we must have walked a circle at least twice!" he said.

"Hey! It's not my fault they made the map so poorly!" Saori protested.

"Well I _did_ offer to help you read it…" Tex said smirking.

"Oh shut up Tex!" Saori said.

Hana and Jake both laughed but Jake cursed himself secretly.

"He almost confessed…I'm sure of it!" Hana thought to herself.

Both smiled at each other upon realization of the other's feelings but kept it to themselves as the trio joined them.

"I guess I'll just have to wait. They'll be another chance, I'm sure of it." Jake thought as they ate.

Besides, they had just beat Pravda and they deserved some down time.

"I'll wait…" Jake thought to himself again as he stole one last glance at Hana.

* * *

**Kuromorimine Girls Academy. 1600 hrs. Nishizumi household.**

Shiho sat smoldering over Oarai's victory against Pravda, but more importantly, over her daughter's use of boys as pilots.

She turned her head to view the news that was playing on a small television.

"A stunning victory today for Oarai. With a loss of only one tank, every one of Pravda's tanks and aircraft were immobilized! Spectators attribute Oarai's newfound flyboys, known already as the "Eagles of Oarai!" We look forward to seeing what these boys and their sleek P-51's will do in the next match when they take on Kuromorimine!" The reporter stated as Shiho switched off the television.

She lowered her gaze and shut her eyes.

"Your sister has once again committed heresy of the likes I cannot forgive." Shiho said to her eldest daughter, Maho.

She simply nodded in response.

"In this next match, you will lead our tankery team to a victory, and you will ensure that these, "Eagles of Oarai" are blown from the sky. Males do not belong in tanks, and neither do they belong in aircraft. You will prove this to world my daughter." Shiho said with quiet anger.

"In the name of the Nishizumi style, I will obliterate them mother." Maho said.

"Excellent. I will again accompany you to this match. I want to meet these Eagles and I will dis-own Miho for good this time." She said emotionlessly before walking out of the room.

Maho furrowed her brow. "I hope you know what you're doing Miho…."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everybody! Originally I was going to post the Oarai vs Kuromorimine match all in one chapter, but it would have an EXTRMELY long chapter if I had, so here is part on so to speak. Hope everyone enjoys, and follow, favorite, and review if so choose!**

* * *

**Oarai city carrier. One week before Kuromorimine vs Oarai match. 1800 hrs.**

"Good tone, good tone! Fox 3!" Jake's voice sounded over a small radio set as a radar guided missile streaked from the bottom of his jet.

All of the girls of the sensha-do team as well as Col. Jenkins and Ami Chono were seated in a small theater-like room watching a simulator battle of the boys in F-15C Eagles.

The boys obviously were all seated in their simulator pods in an adjacent room.

BOOM!

The simulated MIG-29 Fulcrum exploded into tiny fragments as Jake dove below to avoid the debris.

"Eagle 2, confirmed kill. Good job." Jenkins complimented him.

"Baseplate, Eagle 2, roger that over." Jake responded.

He then wondered about why he and his squadron were still here, and not training for the match in their Mustangs. True, this would be beneficial training and probably would help in the match, but he knew better than anyone that an F-15C Eagle and a P-51D Mustang are two very different planes.

He suspected the Colonel knew something he and his squadron didn't and again wondered why he had just recently forced them into so many simulator hours in the F-15C.

He then put his mind back to work as he locked onto the tail of an SU-27.

In the other room, Hana curiously watched the battle unfold.

The screen was split into four different sections with Richard's screen in the top left, Chris directly below that, Tex in the bottom right, and finally Jake in the top right.

She remembered the day she had flown with him and how fast they had been going at one time in the T-38, but even though this was simulated, it was nothing like she had experienced.

The dogfights she witnessed were even faster and more intense than any sensha-do style dogfight, as these planes were of high speed, power, and armed with extremely deadly air-to-air missiles.

She kept her eyes glued to the screen as she watched Jake roll, dive, climb, and turn to stay on the tail of the aforementioned SU-27.

She observed how much closer he was to this plane than the one he had previously shot down, and then she saw the F-15's 20mm Vulcan cannon roar to life as it ripped into the Soviet-built fighter.

BRRRRRRRRP!

BOOM!

The SU-27 exploded violently as it careened toward the ground.

Jake was smiling in triumph, but then he heard the last thing he wanted to hear.

"MISSILE! MISSILE! MISSILE!" his on-board computer warned.

He violently snapped the F-15 over and deployed his chaff and flares to shake the missile, but it was too late.

BOOM!

The missile impacted the aft fuselage of the F-15, and it began to lose altitude quickly.

Hana gasped as she saw the missile impact Jake's fighter, and it took her a moment to remember that it was only a simulation.

"Lost control! Ejecting!" Jake said before pulling the ejection handle causing his screen to go black.

Hana sighed with sad eyes. "I just hope he never has to do that in real life…." She said to herself.

Eventually the simulation was over, and the boys joined the rest of the team in the theatre/review room.

"Men that was some of the best fighting I've seen you do to date in the 15, but Jake, you've got to remember what's going on around you. You got too focused in on that SU-27 there at the end didn't you?" Jenkins said turning to Jake.

"Yes sir…" Jake said lugubriously.

"Then learn from this Lieutenant. That's why we run simulations and practice, so that we don't make mistakes when it actually counts, Hoorah?" Jenkins said.

"HOORAH!" all four boys resounded.

"The same goes for you girls." Chono chimed in.

"I trust you all will remember that even though you won the national's last year, there is no guarantee of winning it again. Therefore, you must keep training long and hard if you want to stay national champions." She concluded.

Everyone nodded in approval before Jenkins and Chono turned it back over to Miho.

"I'd like to congratulate everyone again on all the hard work you've been doing. Everyone has improved a lot since last year, and it really shows. We're going against Kuromorimine in the next round, so let's all do our best, and make this another great year!" she said.

Everyone cheered at their commander's comment and then proceeded to head home.

Hana however noticed Jake sulking a little as he gathered his things.

She approached slowly.

"Hey, that looked like a really good job you did back there." She said trying to cheer him up.

He smiled slightly and replied, "Thanks, but I still got shot down in the end because of a dumb mistake. I should have known better than that….."

Hana looked at him concerned at his response and thought for a moment before she spoke again.

"That may be true, but look at the bright side. You shot down more airplanes than any of the others, and you learned something, right?" she said smiling.

As Jake looked back at her he couldn't help but smile too.

Her eyes looked extremely beautiful he thought, and that serene and elegant beauty she held in her smile could brighten even the gloomiest of days.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He said perking up.

Then Hana did something neither he, nor even Hana herself expected.

"And…." She began before taking his hand in hers.

"You should never doubt yourself, ever. You're a really great pilot, and it really shows." She said as her face turned red.

Jake could feel his turning red as well, but he was so lost in Hana's gaze he couldn't really tell.

"Thanks Hana….that….that really means a lot, especially coming from you…." He said.

She smiled again before they both realized how long they had been holding one another's hand.

Both retracted their grip rather quickly before composing themselves.

"Well, I guess I'll see you again tomorrow." Jake said as he headed for his apartment.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" Hana called as she headed for hers.

Jake again felt star-struck as he layed awake in bed that night.

"Why can't I just tell her!?" he thought frustrated before finally falling asleep.

* * *

**The Next Day….**

Classes went by as usual for Jake and his friends, and finally they began tankery practice once more.

Jake and his squadron had been practicing mock-dogfights against each other as well as strafing and bombing runs against moving and static ground targets.

The girls were just as busy down below practicing their driving, communication, and gunnery skills.

In the midst of all of this however, Miho had been trying to calculate exactly what her sister would bring to play with in the next match.

She knew she could expect to see the usual Tigers, Panthers, and Jagdtigers, but she wondered if they would bring the Maus like the previous year.

She knew that she would have to formulate a different strategy to defeat it so as to confuse her opponents, but thankfully, this time she had a quartet of crack pilots to aid her in this task.

Miho then snapped from her thoughts as Yukari finished loading another AP shell.

"Fire!" Miho commanded.

At the same moment Hana squeezed the trigger sending a round cleanly into the center of the target.

A second later, Jake swooped down and cut loose with a salvo of two rockets that impacted just as perfectly.

Miho smiled.

She knew that the cohesion between her tankers and pilots were going to be one of the deciding factors in the match.

As Jake pulled out of his climb however, he was having his own thoughts.

"Kuromorimine is a German-based team, so they'll probably have Bf-109 Messershmitts, Focke-Wulf-190's, and worst case scenario, Me-262 jets." He thought to himself.

He thought about the last aerial combat finals, and how he had scored his three Me-262 kills.

They had been hard fought, and he had pushed himself and his Mustang to the limit to achieve them.

"At least I'll know how to fight them if they do have 262's…" Jake thought.

A little later on after practice, Miho called the boys over to the Panzer IV for a quick meeting.

Upon approach, Jake saw Yukari taking several different model tanks from her bag, and placing them on the tank.

"So what's this all about?" Richard asked.

"I thought it might be good for you all to get a better idea of what you'll be up against on the ground, so I asked Yukari to bring these models so we could show you." Miho explained.

"Sounds like a good idea. This'll help for when I'm doin' recon." Tex agreed.

Jake eyed each of the models hard. He then thought back to the match he and his squadron had watched on television.

"So do you think they'll bring the Maus this time?" Jake asked with a bit of worry in his voice.

"I don't know. But I wouldn't be surprised. Mother will probably want to crush us pretty quickly, so it would only make since if she brought out all of her ace cards." Miho replied.

"Yeah, but this time you got us!" Chris said boastfully.

Jake then eyed the model of the Maus.

He turned it over in his hand and chuckled a bit when he remembered how the girls had destroyed it in the finals.

"Remind me again how you girls destroyed this monster?" Jake asked.

"We used the Hetzer to stop the Maus, and as a step-up for the Type-89. Then, the Type-89 got on top of it, and kept it's turret from moving back forward. Then, Isuzu-dono was able to take the shot." Yukari explained.

"What'd you think when you saw the match on TV?" Saori suddenly asked.

"Well, we thought the plan was absolutely crazy!" Chris said.

"But so crazy it just might work, and I'd say it did!" Richard chimed in.

Jake then turned the turret to the position it had been in just before the Maus had been knocked out.

"Hey Hana?" Jake said turning towards her.

"Yes Jake?" she said as she stood by his side.

"Could you show me exactly where you shot this thing? If the spot is big enough, we may be able to knock this thing out with a well-placed rocket or bomb." Jake said.

"Certainly! Right here, the vents behind the turret." She said pointing to a small slit behind the turret where the engine section resided.

Jake then thought hard.

"It would be difficult, but Chris, do you think you could hit that?" Jake said turning to his comrade.

"Pssh, no problem at all Jake! You and I both know I could drop a bomb down a pickle barrel, or shoot a rocket down a smoke-stack! Just get that turret to turn somehow, and I'll blow that thing to hell!" he said.

The group laughed at his boastfulness.

"Well since Kuromorimine mainly uses German tanks, what types of fighters should we be expecting?" Hana then asked.

"I'd say anything from a Bf-109 or Focke-Wulf 190, to a Me-262 in the worst case. The Bf-109's are nimble and agile, but with the right maneuvers, they're easy meat for a Mustang. The 190's are a little bit tougher, and they'll probably be the one's carrying the anti-armor ordinance, so you'll need to watch out for them the most. Then there's the Me-262's…." Jake stopped short.

"Are they really as tough as they say they are?" Saori asked.

"They can be. It's a real challenge to shoot one down, even in a Mustang." Richard said.

"But Jake here has shot down three by himself!" Tex said proudly.

All the girls went wide eyed in surprise.

"Wow, how'd you manage that?" Yukari asked.

"Mostly just luck I guess. I mean the first one I had the altitude advantage, so I was able to dive on him and score some solid hits. The other two are still a mystery to me." Jake said sheepishly.

"C'mon Jake, remember what I told you about doubting yourself?" Hana said encouragingly.

The group laughed before Jake replied, "Alright….mom…" he flirted.

Hana giggled at the remark before turning red.

"Well, I think that should cover it. We just need to keep training as much as we can until the match." Miho said.

Finally all went their separate ways, and Jake, Tex, and Miho again found themselves walking back to their apartment complexes together.

"So what kind of attitude should we expect from Kuromorimine? I know they're kind of female supremacists when it comes to sensha-do…" Jake asked Miho.

"Well….I really don't know Jake. My mother is pretty discriminant, but I don't know what my sister would say. I guess we'll just have to wait and find out." She replied.

"Well whatever happens, I think they won't be expecting the ass beatin' that they have comin'!" Tex said.

Miho giggled at the Texan's comment.

"I sure hope you're right Tex, any-who, I'll see you both later." She said as she turned towards her block, but then stopped short as she remembered something.

"Oh and Jake?" she said causing the male pilot to stop in his tracks.

"Yeah?" he asked curiously.

"Keep in mind what Hana said. You really don't need to doubt yourself and….she really meant what she said, if that tells you anything…" she said before walking off.

Jake just stood there stunned for a moment before Tex finally snapped him out of his stupor.

"Hey Jake?" Tex asked.

"What?!" Jake slightly jumped.

"I think that was a hint there partner…." He said.

"What are you talking about Tex?" Jake asked.

"You know full darn good and well! If she's even got her friends tryin' to drop hints to ya' then why the sam hell ain't you asked her out yet!?" he said exasperated.

"I don't know, I just uh…" he stuttered.

"There you go again dude! Stop with the doubting yourself! I swear, if Cass was here, she would've slapped the piss out ya' by now!" he said.

Jake chuckled.

"Yeah, she would have….but you're right. I just wanna wait for the right time though." Jake finally said.

"Well, time's a wastin' partner! You better get a move on!" he said.

"And this comin' from the guy who still hasn't asked out his crush?" Jake said as they reached their apartments.

"I wouldn't say that…" Tex grinned slyly.

"Huh!? What do you mean?" Jake asked.

"Just ask Saori the next time you see her. She'll fill you in!" he said shutting his door behind him.

Jake shook his head and sighed as he walked into his apartment.

He still wasn't quite sleepy, so he kicked off his boots and flipped on his TV.

The news he saw once again alarmed him.

"The terrorist organization, Retribution, has been outraged by the recent matches. The usage of male pilots by schools such as Oarai, St. Gloriana, and Saunders have all been contributing factors to their new threats. They have threatened armed retribution against what they are calling the "male infidel" and warn any who stand in their way will be dealt with harshly and severely. Additionally, the identities of two of this organization's ring leaders has been revealed. First is Ludmilla Pacheco, a former captain in the Russian air force, and Mariko Ogawa, a former pilot from the AJSDF. Both have threatened death to any and all males to continue to pursue sensha-do and-" the reporter's voice was cut off as Jake switched off the TV.

"What on earth is this world coming to?" Jake thought to himself.

Eventually though, he found himself drifting off to sleep with thoughts of Hana still in his head.

* * *

**Kuromorimine vs Oarai match. 0700 hrs. Two hours before match start.**

Jake again found himself getting very anxious about the match as he did a pre-flight on his P-51.

He knew that Oarai had beaten them before, but at a very high cost, and they hadn't had to deal with aircraft at the time either.

Still, he busied himself with his pre-flight checking things such as his electrical systems, ailerons, rudder, and fuel.

He then checked to ensure that the ten rockets, five under each wing, were securely fastened.

He and Tex would be carrying more rockets this match due to the heavy tanks they were sure to be up against.

He was in the middle of checking the aforementioned rockets when suddenly someone bear-hugged him from behind.

"Hey butt-face! Long time, no see eh?" a female voice said.

Jake knew that voice anywhere.

"Well a hearty hello to you too Kay! Or should I say, snot rocket!" Jake teased the blonde tanker.

She playfully slapped him on the head and replied, "Hey! You know that wasn't my fault! I just happened to get a little too big a wiff of that gunpowder and….well…..you know the rest!" she said exasperated.

Upon hearing the commotion Richard and the other pilots had joined the duo.

"Well, well, isn't this a surprise!" Richard said.

"Hey ya Cap! Good to see you!" Kay greeted him.

"Kay! What in the world are you doin here?" Tex asked.

"Well when I heard about these "Eagles of Oarai," I thought they sounded familiar, so I thought I'd come down to the match and see for myself if these were the same crazy pilots I met last year! Looks like I was right too!" she said.

"Well at any rate, it's good to see you again! How's things at Saunders?" Richard asked.

"Great! We traded a few of the Sherman's in for Pershings, so out team is looking a lot better than last year!" she said.

"Speaking of your team, who do ya'll have flying for you?" Jake asked curiously.

"Oh, some familiar faces to ya'll I'm sure. They wanted to come too, but they had some last minute training to do with the team before our match with Anzio tomorrow." Kay said.

It was at that moment Miho joined the group.

"Miho! Good to see you!" Kay said as she bear-hugged her.

Good to see you too Kay!" Miho said trying not to suffocate under the girl's grip.

"So I hear you got my old pals, the Eagles flyin' for you now eh?" she said.

"Yes. Wait, how do you know them?" Miho asked curiously.

Kay's eyes grew sad for a moment before replying, "Well, Cass and I were good friends through middle school, and she kept in contact while she was at Hub Zemke. Then last year, Saunders and Hub Zemke both docked in Pearl Harbor for a big air and tank show, and we all met there." She explained.

"Yeah, and we put on one helluva show that year!" Chris boasted.

"Yeah we sure did, flew alongside the Blue Angels too." Richard said reminiscing.

"Wow! That's really cool Kay!" Miho said intrigued.

"Yeah, thanks! I just wanted to come by to say hello and wish you all good luck for the first match! I think Kuromorimine will be leaving dis-appointed, again!" she said with a smirk.

Then she walked over to Jake and said, "By the way Jake, I wish you'd call me sometime. You've gotten a lot cuter since I last saw you ya know!" she then planted a quick peck on his cheek before striding out of the Oarai assembly area.

Jake was wide eyed and red with embarrassment.

"No, no, no, no, no! Please tell me she did NOT just do that!" he thought to himself.

Hana however, saw what had happened, and was in complete shock as well.

She pressed her hands to her chest as she felt a small tear of jealousy roll down her face.

Upon noticing, Saori immediately asked what was wrong.

"D-Did you…see what just happened?" she asked through a sob.

"Yeah I did, wait here." She commanded before walking over to where Jake was still shell-shocked from the encounter.

He had his head buried in the engine cowling of his Mustang and didn't hear Saori approach.

"Just what in the HELL was THAT!" she demanded.

Jake jumped, hit his head on the engine cowling, and turned his head right into a slap from Saori.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he asked surprised.

"You know full good and well!" she said with her hands on her hips.

"Hey, _she_ kissed _me_! I didn't know she was gonna do that! If I had, I would have-" he was cut off by Saori.

"Never-mind what you would have done! But you better get over there and talk to Hana before I kick you in the nuts for upsetting her!" she warned.

"Hana!?" Jake said as he truly realized what he had done.

He quickly closed the distance from his Mustang to the Panzer IV where Hana was leaning against the tank with tears still in her eyes.

"Hana?" Jake asked.

She sobbed as she tried to look away, but then she was caught off guard as Jake embraced her.

"I'm really sorry if I upset you. Kay is just a friend, and I had no idea she was going to do that. If I had known what she was going to do, I never would have let that happen." He said re-assuringly.

"D-do you really mean that?" Hana asked.

"Yes, I really do. And I am really sorry for upsetting you." He said in response.

Hana smiled weakly as she hugged back.

"That does it. Once this match is over, I've gotta come clean." Jake told himself.

He knew it was finally time to tell Hana how he felt.

Finally the both released their grip on one another and smiled.

Hana blushed under Jake's gaze.

"Y-you…shouldn't look at me like that…" she said getting redder as she smiled.

"Oh? Well…why not?" Jake asked.

"B-because…it…almost seems like you like me or something….." she said with her smile getting even bigger.

"Well I…." Jake began before he noticed several women entering the hangar dressed in Kuromorimine uniforms.

He then gestured towards them as he called Miho and the squadron over to confront their opponents.

Miho bowed low before her sister and mother.

"Sister, Mother, it's good to see you both I-" she was cut off by Shiho.

"I am no longer your mother Miho." She said coldly.

Miho snapped her head up with her eyes wide in surprise.

"W-what!?" she said.

"You have once again committed heresy of the likes I cannot forgive by allowing these….males to fly in your tankery team." She said glaring at the four boys.

"But…but mother I-" Miho tried to explain herself but was again cut off.

"No more of your excuses. First it was your insistence to save your team-mates which broke our winning streak, and now you allow males to participate in sensha-do. I will not allow you to insult the Nishizumi style any further. When we take this match, we will show the world why females reign supreme in both tanks and aircraft." Shiho said coldly.

It was then that Richard spoke up.

"Is that it then? All you care about is winning?" he asked with clenched fists.

"Victory is all that matters. As I have said before, you cannot be grandly victorious without sacrifice. I thought this was a lesson Miho would have learned after she broke our winning streak." She said with a sharp glare.

Jake clenched his fists and then spoke up.

"And then what?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Shiho asked.

"What would you have had if she hadn't jumped in and saved that crew?" Jake asked.

Shiho opened her mouth to speak, but Jake raised his hand to silence her.

"No, let me tell you exactly what you would have had." He began as he grew more livid.

"You would have had a worthless piece of tin, and five dead tankers. Not missing, not wounded, DEAD! And if you think that a victory is more important than the lives of five of your tankers, you're more fucked up in the head than I thought…." Jake said giving the thousand yard stare.

Everyone fell silent at Jake's comment.

"How dare you! But, I certainly wouldn't expect someone such as yourself to understand. You Americans especially wouldn't understand anything about victory without sacrifice." She said in response.

That was when Jake exploded.

"Don't you dare try to talk to me about knowing what it means to lose a team member for good! The entire squadron and I know first-hand! We lost a great mentor and leader last year, and we won that year's aerial combat tournament in her honor! So you had best shut the fuck up if you know what's good for you!" he said furiously.

That was when Erika piped up.

"Yeah, and if I re-call correctly _you_ got shot down during that tournament. I still don't know how you male imbeciles won that match!" she said tauntingly.

Jake took a menacing step towards Kuromorimine's sub-commander.

Any who didn't know what was going on would have thought Jake was about punch her in the face, but he looked her right in the eyes and said through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, and if _I_ remember correctly, it was a three versus one dogfight, and I shot down two. And that third one would have been pretty fucking hard to shoot down with all six of my guns dry, so I created a distraction so Cap could slip in and bust his ass which he did a pretty good job of. That bastard just happened to get a lucky shot in on me." He firmly stated.

"Plus, it doesn't take a whole lot of skill to shoot down a P-51 with jet engines and four 30mm cannons now does it?" Tex said taking a stand beside his wingman.

Erika was taken aback and shivered slightly as she stepped back.

Everyone there later agreed that this had been the first team they had ever seen true fear in Erika Itsumi.

"Enough of this! You all shall pay for your ignorance, and when the Nishizumi style reigns supreme, males will be nothing more than slaves to female kind." Shiho said.

"We'll just see about that you cold-hearted bitch. But as for now, you had best get the fuck away from our staging area before we forcibly remove you from it!" Richard threatened.

Shiho and Erika scoffed as they walked away.

Maho however, who had been silent the entire time, stayed behind and finally spoke up.

She first turned her head to Jake.

"First of all, I despise your choice of words and tone used with my mother, but it was about time that someone put her in her place. If the circumstances were different, I would thank you." She said cooly.

Jake nodded in response.

"I would also like to say that I'm sorry for your squadron's loss. I'm not sure I could imagine what might have happened if the same had happened to us during that match with Pravda." She continued.

The boys again nodded in response before Maho approached her sister who was close to tears.

She gingerly placed her hand on her shoulder before Miho began sobbing into Maho's shoulder.

"Cheer up sis, you've still got a match to fight." She said trying to comfort her.

It was then Saori and Hana stepped forward.

"Cheer up Miho, it's not like you don't have a family anymore." Hana said.

"That's right! You've still got all of us!" Saori said.

Miho smiled a bit at her friend's comments.

"We're behind you a hundred percent too Miho." Richard spoke for the Eagles.

Maho then piped up again.

"Once this match is over Miho, I promise I will do everything in my power to see that you are rectified. Just because your style of tankery isn't the Nishizumi style, doesn't mean it is wrong. You proved this last year, remember?" Miho finally perked up at this as the two sisters embraced each other.

"Thank you big sister!" Miho said gratefully.

Maho nodded and smiled.

"Now you all had best finish your preparations. This match, I believe, is going to be interesting." She said before walking off.

All present took a moment to fully take in what all had just happened.

Finally, Jake spoke up.

"Those folks are gonna be real dis-appointed when we knock every last damn one of their fighters outta the sky, and turn their tanks into scrap metal!" he said before storming off to his Mustang.

"Damn rights they are!" Tex agreed walking after Jake.

"Yeah, you don't say something like that to Eagle Squadron and live to tell about it!" Chris chimed in.

"Whatever happens, they're not gonna be happy…" Richard said coldly.

Hana looked over at Jake legitimately concerned.

She had never seen this side of him, and was scared of what Shiho and Erika might have awoken.

* * *

Eventually the order for the boys to taxi to the runway, and the girls to head to their starting positions came in.

As the boys got into position on the runway, they cut their engines to conserve fuel as it would take some time for the official team greeting before they could take off.

It was while they were waiting that five girls in flight gear passed by them and began yelling things such as, "Go back to America! You don't belong here!" and "You'll regret ever stepping into a fighter when we're done with you!"

Jake huffed.

These girls were probably similar to Pravda's pilots in the fact that they had a big attitude with a small amount of experience and skill.

Then, a short, thin, and kinder girl dressed in the flight gear of a Luftwaffe pilot approached the squadron.

The boys immediately tensed and were surprised when the girl smiled and greeted them cheerfully.

She snapped off a salute and said with a noticeable German accent, "Good day to you all!"

All of the boys were taken aback as she said this in English.

Richard stepped forward and returned her salute.

"And good day to you miss. Who might I have the privilege of addressing?" he asked.

"Oh, please forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Marlene Hartmann. I am a transfer student from Germany." She said with a smile.

All of the boys were wide eyed.

True she was quite a looker with a slim figure, blonde hair, and bright blue eyes, but it was her last name that truly shocked them all.

"Hartmann!?" Tex said in surpise.

"You don't mean as in Erich "Bubi" Hartmann do you?" Jake asked curiously.

"The top scoring ace of World War II!?" Chris asked hysterically.

She smiled wide.

"Yes actually. He was my great-great-grandfather. I only met him once when I was very little, and he died before I was truly able to meet him. But it certainly is a rare privilege to have been related to such a fine pilot, yes?" she said.

Jake smiled.

"Yeah I know what you mean. My granddad flew with the 118th Tactical Recon squadron from 1944-1945. He claimed five Zeros, and two Ki-43's before the war ended, with a total of seven kills. He's actually the one who taught me to fly." Jake said.

Marlene smiled at this.

"I only wish I could have had the same privilege with Grandaddy Hartmann. But I keep his memory alive with my participation in aerial combat I feel." She responded.

"Well I'm sure you do. I have to ask though, what brought you to Kuromorimine?" Richard asked.

"I was offered a scholarship to fly for them when sensha-do began allowing fighters in. It was an excellent deal, so I took it….." she said trailing off.

"You don't seem to enthusiastic about it though." Richard noted.

"Well, though it is a great school, and I have made friends, the Nishizumi style is not at all what my Grandaddt Hartmann would have wanted me to fly by. I also would like to apologize for my squadron's comments earlier. They'll be hearing about it later, I assure you." She said.

They all smiled at one another before a loudspeaker sounded.

"All pilot's mount your planes. Take-off in five minutes." It said.

"Well, good luck to you all. I hope that when this match is over we can speak again, yes?" she said with a noticeable blush to Richard.

"Sure thing!" he said with a gratuitous grin.

The other three boys laughed before they thought hard about their new adversary.

"She's the great-great-granddaughter of the top scoring ace of all time! How are we supposed to beat that!?" Chris panicked.

"Calm down Chris. At least we're not fighting Erich Hartmann himself." Jake said.

"Well let's mount up. We'll assess this situation better once we're airborne." Richard said.

As Jake climbed into his Mustang, he finally got a glimpse of the fighters that Kuromorimine had brought as they taxied to the runway.

He saw two Messerschmitt Bf-110 heavy fighters, two Focke-Wulf 190's each laden with a bomb, and one yellow nosed Bf-109G Messerschmitt he was sure belonged to Marlene.

He pointed them out to his squadron mates as they taxied by, and made a mental note to make sure to radio that in to Miho once the match started.

Marlene eyed the four Mustangs from the cockpit of her Bf-109.

She smiled as they one by one lined up for take-off.

"This is going to be interesting." She thought.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everybody! Finally finished with the Oarai vs Kuromorimine match, so hope you all enjoy! InfantryGrunt94**

* * *

"Match start!" the loudspeaker sounded.

Once again, all tanks lurched forward from their starting position on opposite sides of the battlefield which was quite similar to the one Oarai had fought Kuromorimine on the previous year.

Eagle Squadron leveled off at 5,000 feet above the column of Oarai's twelve tanks.

Once there, Richard began going over their tentative plan again.

"Eagles 2 and 4, you two are responsible for air superiority. Eagles 1 and 3 will be on ground support with high priority placed on the Maus if they've brought it. Keep an eye out for that 109 though." Richard warned.

With that, Chris and Richard broke formation and began flying at 1,000 feet searching for Kuromorimine's tanks.

Meanwhile, Miho and Anglerfish team were going over the plan for the ground operation.

"Everyone remember to keep Rabbit Team covered since they're our flag tank, but stick to the original plan as much as possible. Duck and Roadrunner teams, begin recon. Everyone else, move to the rally point." She said over the comms.

"Right!" everyone resounded.

"Roadrunner team, I know this is your first match, but just do your best and don't engage the enemy unless you have to. Remember, you don't have the armor or the firepower to tangle with their main force." Miho reminded the crew of the M5A1 affectionately named Roadrunner Team.

"We'll sniff em' out no problem commander!" the freshman commander said confidently as her team broke off from the main formation.

"Anglerfish Actual, this is Eagle 2 over." Jake came over the comms.

Miho keyed in her mic and replied, "This is Anglerfish Actual, go ahead Eagle 2."

"Enemy fighter formation is as follows: 2 Messerschmitt Bf-110 heavy fighters, 2 Focke-Wulf 190's and one yellow nosed Bf-109 is the squadron leader's plane. How copy over?" Jake radioed back.

"Roger that Eagle 2. I want you and Eagle 4 to do some aerial recon and see if they have the Maus, but if you find their fighters first, engage at your discretion, over." Miho radioed.

"WILCO Anglerfish. Eagle 2 out." Jake said.

* * *

Jake and Tex then began to orbit the battlefield looking for the Kuromorimine tanks.

While Tex was busy scanning the ground, Jake kept his eyes on the sky looking for the fighters, the Bf-109 in particular.

He knew that Marlene wasn't going to be an easy rival, and the last thing he wanted was to get jumped by her.

Then out of the corner of his eye, he spotted two slow moving aircraft that he recognized immediately as the two Bf-110's.

"Contact! Two bogeys ten o' clock low!" Jake called them out.

"Got eyes on em' Eagle 2! What you wanna do?" Tex asked.

"Let's roll in on em' from out of the sun like usual, but watch that rear gun!" Jake warned.

"Copy Eagle 2! Let's go huntin'!" Tex replied.

They then both rolled inverted and nosed over towards the Bf-110's that were headed towards the main column of Oarai's tanks.

Jake knew he and Tex would need to dispatch them quickly as the cannons on a Bf-110 could shred a tank in seconds.

As he closed in on the lead Bf-110, Tex latched on the tail-end Charlie 110.

The 110 filled Jake's gun-sight and he and Tex both pressed their triggers.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

Both Mustang's fifty's roared to life and shredded the Bf-110's before they even knew what had hit them.

It was a second later when both Messerschmitts began trailing red smoke.

"Eagle 2 to all Oarai units, be advised, Eagles 2 and 4 have engaged and destroyed two Messerschmitt Bf-110's in the vicinity of grid coordinates, 4506 over." Jake radioed.

Miho then looked down at her map, and marked where the boys had each scored their kills.

She suspected something, but kept it to herself.

Hana however, couldn't help but notice her apprehensiveness.

"Miho, what's wrong?" she asked concerned.

"This all just seems a bit too easy…."she said worried.

The radio then came back to life.

"Anglerfish, this is Eagle 4 main tank column sighted at grid coordinates 3012! Sighted….HOLY SHIT!" Tex said suddenly.

It was then that they Panzer IV's crew heard Jake on the radio chatter saying,

"FLAK!? SHIT! PULL UP!"

Miho quickly keyed in her mic, "Eagle 2, Eagle 4, status!"

They had to wait a moment before Jake answered.

"Anglerfish, main tank column is advancing towards your position. We spotted the Maus and the flag tank at those last grid coordinates, but it looks like they brought two flak panzers as well, over." Jake said.

"Understood Eagle 2. Any damage to either of your planes?" Miho asked.

"Negative Anglerfish. Looks like we got lucky this time, over." Jake responded.

Miho breathed a sigh of relief, but was then put into a state of unrest.

Kuromorimine had brought the Maus and two flak panzers that were guarding their flag tank.

There was now no way either her fighters or tanks could get close to the other team's flag tank…..unless she could fool them somehow.

She quickly formulated a plan and began explaining it to her crew.

"Saori, radio Duck and Roadrunner teams and have them track the flag tank and the Maus's rest of the main force is going to engage the main column." She said before keying her mic again.

"Eagle 1 do you have a copy?" she radioed Richard.

"Solid copy Anglerfish." He radioed back.

"I want you to make a pass on Kuromorimine's main column as soon as they engage us. Aim for the Jagdtigers and Panthers in particular." She instructed.

"Understood Anglerfish. Eagle 1 is on station and ready to assist." He radioed back.

"Eagle 3, the Maus is at grid coordinates 3012 surrounded by the flag tank and two flak panzers. I want you neutralize it once the flak panzers are destroyed." Miho said to Chris.

"Roger that Anglerfish!" Chris responded.

She then sighed as she knew the next part of her plan would be extremely dangerous.

"Roadrunner and Duck teams, I need you to create a distraction for Eagle 3 while he disables the Maus…and Eagles 2 and 4….I hate to ask you to do this, but I need you to make a rocket run on the flak panzers in order to clear the way for Eagle 3." She radioed.

Jake looked over at his wingman from his canopy who gave a firm nod.

"Anglerfish, understood. We're rollin' in!" he replied.

Hana however felt herself getting very anxious at the thought of Jake making a low level and high speed rocket run on the flak panzers.

There were too many things that could go wrong, and even with an ejection seat, there were some altitudes that were too low to bail out.

"Please be safe Jake…." She thought to herself.

* * *

High above Jake and Tex prepared to make their run.

"As soon as we make our run, Duck and Roadrunner teams are gonna fire on the Maus to get its attention. That should give Chris enough time to get in there and knock it out." Jake explained.

Tex was about to reply, when he saw what looked like glowing tennis balls streak past Jake's cockpit.

Jake immediately looked behind him only to see Marlene's yellow nosed Bf-109.

"Eagle 4, I'm gonna break left, you break right!" Jake ordered.

Both Mustangs immediately separated, and Marlene followed after Jake.

"Eagle 4, I'll deal with the 109! You take care of those flak panzers!" Jake ordered.

"Solid copy Eagle 2! Give em' hell!" Tex responded before nosing over towards the panzers.

* * *

Jake immediately snap-rolled his Mustang in an attempt to shake his pursuer but Marlene doubled the move perfectly.

He then tried to put the Mustang into a tight Lufbery circle to out-turn his opponent, but as he looked behind him, he only saw the 109 inching closer and closer.

Inside its cockpit Marlene was smiling pleasantly.

"Just a little more…" she urged as she got her guns on the Mustang.

Then Jake called upon his last resort, a maneuver that his grandfather had told him of, and that he had read about in the exploits of Lt Col. Don S. Bryant, the inverted vertical reverse.

As the turn hit its peak, Jake snapped his stick into his gut and hit full bottom left rudder.

He then threw the stick forward again to neutralize it as he hit his head on the canopy and the torque of the propeller swung the Mustang an entire one hundred and eighty degrees and he disappeared from the 109 in less than second.

Marlene rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

The Mustang had been in front of her just a moment ago, and now it was nowhere to be found!

"He's either an extremely good fighter pilot or a phantom…." She thought to herself.

* * *

Meanwhile Tex was bearing down on the two flak panzers.

"Here goes nothin'!" he thought as he applied full power and bore down fast on the enemy tanks.

Flak began to erupt all around him but he fired a salvo of two rockets at each flak panzer.

BOOM!

Both flak panzers rocked backwards under the rocket's impact, but so did Tex's Mustang from a stray flak round.

He quickly looked behind him to see a red smoke trail behind him.

He then radioed his team.

"All Oarai units this is Eagle 4. Flak panzers are out and so am I. Returning to base over." He said with a sigh.

"Eagle 4, good job buddy. Don't worry, we'll make em' pay for that!" Jake radioed his wingman.

Tex smiled under his oxygen mask as he returned to the landing strip.

He knew his wingman wouldn't let him down.

* * *

Below, Noriko radioed her colleagues in the M5A1.

"Roadrunner team, as soon as we fire on the Maus we need to get out of here! Eagle 3, you make sure you knock that thing out before it knocks us out!" she radioed both the Roadrunner team and Chris.

"Solid copy Duck! Just get that turret to turn and I'll blow it to hell and back!" he said.

Noriko then shoved an AP shell into the breach of her cannon.

"Prepare to fire!" she ordered as Akebi took aim.

She waited until she heard the drone of the P-51's engine, and then yelled, "Fire!"

BOOM!

Both tanks fired at the Maus causing it to divert its attention to the two light tanks.

Its turret slowly and menacingly swung towards the Oarai tanks who were now beating a hasty retreat.

However, unknown to the crew of the Maus, they were in just as much danger as Chris rolled over as he saw the exposed slits of the Maus's engine compartment.

He fixated on his target and then cut loose with everything he had.

"Bombs away!" he called as he released his two one thousand pound bombs.

Then for good measure, he cut loose with all six of his rockets and his fifty caliber machine guns.

The Maus lit up like a Christmas tree with tracer and rockets exploding all over it, and then violently exploded in a terrific mushroom cloud.

Its white flag deployed showing its defeat, and Chris pulled up out of his attack run.

"Take that you feminist bitches! That'll teach you to mess with the Eagles!" he gloated triumphantly.

"Nice kill Eagle 3! I thought we were gonners for a second!" Noriko radioed Chris.

"No problem Duck! I told you I had it covered!" he replied.

But his triumph was cut short as he felt the impact of cannon and machine gun rounds on his Mustang.

He looked behind him to see Marlene's Bf-109 in hot pursuit.

He took evasive maneuvers, but Marlene already had the upper hand.

She quickly dispatched him, and headed for the main column of Oarai's tanks that was already mixing it up with Kuromorimine's tanks.

* * *

Below, Erika was livid with the news of the destroyed Maus and flak panzers.

"Those bastards! THOSE BASTARDS!" she screamed.

"Get a hold of yourself sub-commander. We still have a battle to win." Maho radioed her.

Maho then keyed her mic again.

"Black 1, what is your squadron's status?" she radioed Marlene.

"Black 4 and 5 are down, but myself, and Black 2 and 3 are still operational." She said referring to herself and the two remaining Focke-Wulfs.

"Understood. Tell Black 2 and 3 to begin strafing the enemy, but keep an eye out for the two remaining P-51's." Maho warned.

"Understood commander." The German replied.

As the two sides were exchanging fire, Richard was about to begin a strafing run.

"Eagle 2, cover me while I strafe the main column." Richard radioed Jake.

"Roger Eagle 1. Eagle 2 has you covered." He replied.

Richard then rolled over and dove towards the Jagdtiger and released his two one thousand pound bombs.

BOOM!

The Jagdtiger shook from the impact and its white flag deployed as a result.

"Jagdtiger is down!" its commander radioed.

Erika was getting more and more angry by the minute until she saw the two Fw-190's streak over-head.

"This will teach them!" she said.

Upon noticing this, Jake immediately called out the two new contacts.

"Bogeys! Two o' clock high!" he called out.

Jake immediately saw what he was afraid of as well, one of the 190's heading straight for Anglerfish team!

He whipped his Mustang in behind the 190 and fire-walled his throttle and closed to three hundred meters.

The 190 was seconds away from dropping its lethal payload when Jake squeezed his trigger causing the Focke-Wulf's pilot to flinch and drop the bomb short of the Panzer IV.

* * *

Below, Miho, Yukari, and Hana all felt the impact of the bomb that would have meant their demise had it not been for Jake.

Hana and Miho both peered out of their hatches to see Jake behind a Focke-Wulf in a climbing turn with all six of his fifties blinking.

Then the Focke-Wulf began trailing red smoke to their delight.

Hana smiled to herself as she heard Jake come over the radio.

"Anglerfish, this is Eagle 2. You girls alright?" he asked worried.

"Eagle 2, this is Anglerfish we're all ok. Thanks for the save!" Saori radioed him back.

Jake breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing those words.

But he had no sooner done so, when he caught sight of the Bf-109 on his tail again.

"Not this again!" he cursed his luck.

Richard had managed to score a kill on the other 190 and was now making a final rocket run on the main column of Kuromorimine tanks.

After blowing up another Panther, he directed his attention to Jake.

He saw that he was in quite a bind with the 109's teeth sunk deep into his Mustang's tail.

Jake knew that he was running out of options, but he again thought up a clever plan.

He then radioed Richard and said, "Eagle 1, get in behind that 109's tail I've got an idea." He said.

"Eagle 2, what've got in mind?" he asked.

"I'm gonna pull out an old trick I learned from flying the Hellcat. If it works, she'll slide out right in front of me, and then we can both hammer her at the same time!" he replied.

Richard smiled.

Jake had won many a kill with that move and with two Mustangs, it make it even more lethal.

"Solid copy, Eagle 2. Stand by." He said as he closed in behind the 109.

Jake then dove for the deck, and Marlene followed close behind at high speed.

Then, he did something she didn't expect.

Jake chopped his power and skidded his rudder to the left causing the Messerschmitt to overshoot.

Jake smiled and ruddered back to the right and hosed the 109 with fifty caliber slugs.

Richard joined in with his machine guns and soon the 109 was trailing red smoke.

Jake smiled, but then his eyes grew wide as he realized red smoke wasn't the only thing the 109 was trailing.

He saw a distinct black trail mixed in with the red smoke and knew that Marlene was probably in bad shape.

He looked over at Richard and they both nodded to one another before pulling up alongside the Messerschmitt.

Richard switched over to the emergency frequency which allowed for communication between both teams, and radioed Marlene.

"Marlene, this is Richard, looks like your plane took some bad hits. Can you make it back?" he asked concerned.

Marlene looked over at the Mustang pilot from the cockpit of her limping Messerschmitt before replying.

"I…I don't think so. I'm losing oil pressure quickly, and it's getting harder to keep my nose up!" she said.

"Get out of there Marlene! Eject!" Jake said upon hearing this.

"I can't! This plane doesn't have an ejection seat!" she replied.

Jake was dumbfounded at this news.

"What!? I thought ejection seats were mandatory for all sensha-do fighters!" Jake said in dis-belief.

"They are…" Richard said coldly.

Both boys knew in a second that Shiho Nishizumi was responsible for this, and were appalled that she would send a pilot into the air without adequate safety features.

"Well can you at least get the caopy open to bail out?" Richard asked.

Marlene tugged on the canopy as hard as she could, but it wouldn't budge.

"No! The canopy's stuck!" she said now getting scared.

That was when Jake heard Anglerfish team over his radio.

"Eagle Squadron, were taking heavy fire from Kuromorimine's tanks! Requesting assistance!" Saori called frantically.

"Eagle 2, you go and help them. I'll stay with Marlene." Richard said.

"WILCO Eagle 1. Good luck you two." Jake said before peeling off.

* * *

Back at the front however, Anglerfish team and the rest of Oarai's tanks were having their own problems.

Elephant, Mallard, and Hippo teams had all been knocked out, and it was getting harder and harder for the teams to protect their flag tank.

Secretly however, Miho had ordered Duck and Roadrunner teams to harass the flag tank as long as possible and to destroy it if possible as they were still close to it after the run-in with the Maus.

Miho keyed in her mic, "Eagle 2, where are you?" she radioed Jake.

"On station and ready to assist Anglerfish. I've got a full load of rockets, so just tell me where you want em'!" he replied.

"Target the heavy tanks with priority placed on the King Tigers and the Tiger I!" Miho replied.

She felt bad about ordering her pilot to fire on her sister's tank, but she knew it had to be done.

"WILCO Anglerfish! Eagle 2 is rollin' in!" he replied.

As the tanks continued to exchange shots, Jake lined up for a rocket run.

He saw the same silver haired girl who had insulted him earlier peering out of a King Tiger and grinned devilishly.

"Time for a little payback!" he thought to himself.

Below, Erika was still yelling at her crew when she saw to her horror a Mustang bearing down on her tank.

She quickly dropped into the turret a split second before a salvo of four rockets slammed into her tank knocking it out.

"STUPID, STUPID BOYS!" she said shaking her fist at the fighter as hit climbed away.

Jake smiled under his oxygen mask as he climbed away.

"Karma bitch!" he thought to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, Richard and Marlene were still trying to find a good spot for Marlene to ditch.

"I still can't get the canopy open!" she said.

"Can you get your gear down?" he asked.

Marlene tried lowering her gear, but it was no use, her hydraulics must have been damaged as well.

"No, I can't!" she replied now even more nervous.

Richard grimaced.

The only thing left for her to do was a belly-flop landing.

She would have to put the Bf-109 down in a grassy area or else risk skidding across the ground and crashing into something.

"Alright, you're going to have to do a belly-flop landing. Just stay cool Marlene, you can do it." He re-assured her.

"Ok….ok…." she said breathing heavy.

Then, without warning, Marlene's propeller ground to a halt, and she began to lose altitude rapidly.

"Keep the nose up as best you can Marlene, and focus on the horizon!" Richard instructed.

He then radioed the tower.

"Tower this is Eagle 1. Scramble emergency vehicles immediately. Pilot Marlene Hartmann is going to have to land dead-stick in the vicinity of coordinates 2731." He said.

"Understood Eagle 1. ETA 5 minutes." The tower replied.

Marlene got closer and closer to the ground and she felt her eyes getting wider as she felt the ground rise up to meet her.

Then she impacted hard, and her head slammed against her canopy.

Richard immediately panicked.

"Marlene are you ok? Respond!" he said.

There was no response.

"Marlene! Respond dammit!" he said again as the ambulance and fire truck arrived at the crash scene.

As he circled around he witnessed a fireman saw the canopy off and remove a limp and unconscious Marlene from the cockpit and place her into the ambulance.

"Please God, let her be alright…." He prayed.

He admitted he was pissed, but he knew who he could take it out on as he headed back into the fray.

* * *

Near the wreckage of the Maus, the Kuromorimine flag tank was fleeing from a persistent duo of light tanks.

"Keep firing! We've got to keep chasing them!" Noriko ordered.

They knew that their smaller guns couldn't penetrate the frontal armor of the Panther that was the flag tank, but as they approached a small hill, Noriko got an idea.

"Roadrunner team, get up there and wait for my signal. We're going to chase the flag tank right under you, and once you get the chance take the shot right at the engine compartment!" she ordered.

"Right! We may be freshmen, but we can still fight!" the Stuart's commander resounded as the tank sped towards the top of the hill.

Back at the front, both sides were nearly exhausted in terms of both tanks and ordinance.

Hana was about to fire one of six of the remaining AP shells as Jake released his last two rockets at Maho's Tiger.

BOOM!

BOOM!

Both fired at the same time, and Maho was immediately knocked out, but shells form the remaining Kuromorimine tanks were getting closer and closer to the Rabbit team.

Then, from out of nowhere the loudspeaker came to life.

"Kuromorimine's flag tank has been disabled. Oarai takes the match!" it sounded.

Miho was confused for a moment, but then smiled as she remembered her two scout tanks.

The M5A1's crew cheered with a smoking gun declaring their victory over a Panther and Kuromorimine.

Miho keyed in her mic one last time.

"Good job everyone! Looks like we pulled it off again!" she said.

Hana again popped her hatch to have a look at the battlefield.

She saw the carnage that had taken place, but smiled as Jake and Richard roared over the main column, but became worried as she heard Miho speaking on the radio.

"What's wrong Miho?" she asked.

"One of Kuromorimine's pilots had an accident during the match. We had better get back." She said with worry in her voice.

Hana was worried as well.

She hoped that this wouldn't be as bad as the last time Kuromorimine had an accident.

* * *

**Later….**

Anglerfish team and the rest of Oarai's tank crews assembled back at the main area where they found the four pilots all speaking with a doctor.

"Will she be alright?" Richard asked firmly.

"Yes. She suffered a minor concussion, but she'll be alright. We're going to keep her overnight to monitor her condition, but once she heals up, she should be flying again in no time." The doctor re-assured them.

All four boys breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn Jake, what'd you do?" Tex asked.

"I don't know! If you ask me though, I'd say that 109 wasn't armored properly, and I know for a fact that it was _definitely_ supposed to have an ejection seat!" he said lividly.

"I'll bet that it was that bitch from earlier's doing…" Chris said coldly.

"Speak of the devil…" Richard said as Shiho approached with Maho and Erika.

The girls of Anglerfish all gathered around the boys in wonder of what was about to happen.

"You have disgraced my honor, as well as that of my commanders. Therefore, you leave me no choice!" Shiho said as she withdrew a Luger pistol and pointed it menacingly at the boys.

The girls all gasped and the boys were wide eyed.

Jake however, simply grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. Shiho looked at him funny before she felt the cold metal of a gun pressed to her head.

She then heard the un-mistakable click of a Colt .45 Peacemaker as it chambered a round.

"Now I might be well over eighty years old, but you had best drop that pistol and get away from my grandson, or else I'll blow your brains so far out your ass it'll turn the moon red!" said an older man wearing a ball cap that read "Housten Agricultural Flight."

Shiho reluctantly dropped the pistol and was then handcuffed by two Japanese police officers.

Ami Chono and Col. Jenkins then appeared beside the old man and read off an arrest warrant.

"Shiho Nishizumi, for the crimes of fielding an under protected aircraft, endangering the life of a pilot, and attempted murder, you are hereby placed under arrest." Jenkins said as he read the warrant.

Maho and Miho both gasped as they saw their mother placed in handcuffs, but were more appalled at what she had almost done to the boys of Eagle Squadron.

"I would have expected a lot better from you Miss Nishizumi." Ami said as Shiho was carried off.

"You haven't heard the last of me! You won't be flying for much longer do you hear me!" she said fanatically as she was dragged off.

The old man holstered his Peacemaker and Jake walked forward and embraced him.

"You never told me you were coming to the match Grandad!" he said happily.

"Yeah, well you never told me you were gonna piss off some crazy bitch, and I was gonna have to come save your ass!" he said jokingly.

The two smiled and Jake introduced everyone to his grandfather.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my grandfather, Captain Marvin Housten, formerly of the Army Air Corps and owner of Housten AG Flight!" he said proudly.

All of the Eagles immediately greeted him with the girls right behind them.

Hana bowed and greeted the old man with, "It is nice to meet you Mister Housten-san. Jake has told me a lot about you." She said politely in English.

"Oh has he? Well he never mentioned having a girlfriend…" he said smiling at Jake.

"WHA!? Wait granddad she's not my girlfriend! She's…just a really good friend, that's all!" he said.

Marvin smiled devilishly and replied, "Oh that's what they all say Jake!"

He then leaned down and whispered in Jake's ear, "But you had better ask that pretty girl out before I do!" he said with a chuckle.

Jake smiled and once he was finished visiting with his grandfather, he walked back over to where Hana was standing.

"Another really good job out there!" he complimented her.

"Yeah, you too!" she replied.

They both smiled and blushed slightly before Jake remembered what he had to do.

"Hey Hana?" he asked.

"Yes Jake?" she replied.

"Well, remember when I said I had something to tell you?" he asked.

"Yes?" she said getting anxious.

"Well I…." he began but was cut off by Colonel Jenkins.

"C'mon Jake. The Japanese police need to speak with you and Richard about the incident with Marlene and Shiho." He said.

"Yes sir." He replied.

Hana looked down saddened as this was the second time this had happened.

Jake noticed her sadness and embraced her once more.

This time she hugged back and smiled gratefully.

"I'll see you a little later I guess. Hopefully this won't take too long." Jake said.

"Ok. Take care." Hana said as Jake walked off.

She watched him leave with the rest of his squadron and couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.

"Was he really going to tell me?" she wondered.

* * *

**Later that evening….**

Jake and Richard exited the police station exhausted from all of the questioning they had just been through.

"I never thought it would have taken this long…" Jake said wearily.

"Yeah me neither." Richard agreed.

They made it back to the school ship where they found that their Mustangs had already been brought back for them, and Jake smiled as that was one less thing he had to do.

Richard yawned and said, "Well, I think I'm gonna go turn in for the night. Remember, the us guys got a little hiking trip to go on in the morning!" he said.

"Roger that Cap! I'll be going home soon myself, but there's something I gotta do first." Jake said looking over at a shop that sold flower arrangements.

Richard smirked. "Oh I see. Well, just remember what I told you about girls Jake, they've ALL got snakes in their head!" he said before walking off.

"Whatever you say Cap!" Jake called back.

He then entered the store, and began looking around. He knew what he was looking for, but wondered if they had it.

Then he spotted it, a small arrangement made with Wisteria, Hana's favorite flower.

He smiled as he picked it up.

"It might not be much, but it'll get my message across…" Jake thought.

After he had paid for the arrangement he walked back to his apartment with a large smile covering his face.

"Tomorrow is gonna be the day…" he thought as he entered his apartment and placed the wrapped arrangement down on his desk.

He then fell asleep rather quickly from all of the excitement that had occurred that day.

* * *

**The Next Morning…..**

Jake awoke the next morning refreshed and looked once more at the arrangement.

He knew it was finally time.

He got dressed for the hiking trip, and slung his backpack over his shoulder with the arrangement under one arm.

He then proceeded towards Hana's apartment, but got even more nervous with each step.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…." He thought.

Finally he reached her doorstep and rang the doorbell.

A few minutes went by, but no-one answered.

He looked at his watch, and saw that it wasn't so early that she would still be asleep.

That was when he heard a voice off to his right.

"Excuse me young man, are you looking for Miss Isuzu?" said an elderly woman.

"Oh, yes ma'am." He replied.

"Oh, she left earlier this morning. She said something about going on a camping trip with her friends, and would be back Sunday evening." The elderly woman explained.

Jake frowned saddened.

"Oh…I see…well thank you ma'am." He said remembering to bow.

He walked lugubriously to the tank sheds to meet with his squadron for the hike, and placed the arrangement in his backpack.

"Dammit!" he cursed his luck.

Upon approach he saw the other three boys were already there and dressed in gym shorts, hiking boots and tight muscle shirts similar to his.

"Hey Jake, was wonderin' when you'd show up!" Tex said.

"Yeah, what kept you?" Chris asked.

"Uh…just overslept." He fibbed.

"Well now that the gangs all here, let's roll out!" Richard said.

They began their hike through the wooded area and chatted amongst themselves as they walked.

Jake found himself in awe of how realistic the ship's forest was, and wondered why Hub Zemke had never had anything like it.

Eventually, all four boys came to a stop near a small lake and they all sat down for a break.

"Right, now it's time for the real reason we're all out here." Richard said as he withdrew a small mason jar with the words "Apple Pie Moonshine" inscribed on it.

There was only a little left in it, but Jake knew it was pretty potent stuff.

"You brought us all the way out here just to get drunk Cap!?" Tex said.

"No! Look closer Tex!" Richard said. Upon further examination, Tex realized it was the old jar that Cass had affectionately dubbed their "victory jar."

They all used to take a swig out of it for every victory they won.

"Oh, I see." Tex said.

"Yeah, we'll all take one for ourselves, and then one for Cass, since she can't be here with us." Richard said as he handed a red solo cup to each boy and poured a small amount into each cup until the jar was dry.

"Well, to Cass and to our new home!" Richard said.

"Hoorah!" the boys echoed as they raised their cups.

Tex and Chris immediately started to cough on the liquor, but Jake and Richard seemed fine.

"Man, I don't know how Cass drank this stuff!" Tex said.

"You got that right!" Chris agreed.

Jake chuckled and sat down on a rock that was nearby.

He knew what was coming next.

"Hey! What the hell are we doin' out here anyway!?" Tex said suddenly.

Jake and the others simply burst out laughing.

It seemed like even a small amount of liquor could make Tex tipsy.

As the minutes ticked by, Tex got more ridiculous.

"Well there's a skeeter on ma' peeter, whack it off! There's a skeeter on ma' peeter whack it off! There's a dozen on ma' cuzzin' you can hear the bastards buzzin', there's a skeeter on ma' peeter whack it off!" he sang.

All of the boys were beside themselves in laughter, but eventually Jake and Richard got him settled down.

Jake then felt kind of strange.

"You ever get the feeling like you're being watched?" he asked Richard.

"Yeah…kind of like right now?" he asked.

"Yeah…" he said a split second before he heard a yelp and several girls come tripping out of the bushes to their left.

They all quickly got to their feet, and Jake immediately recognized the faces of Hana, Saori, Miho, Anzu, Yukari, and Mako…all in swimsuits!

Jake shook his head in disbelief.

"What the…where did ya'll come from?" he asked.

"We were camping on the other side of that bridge over there, and heard someone yelling and singing off key so we came to see what it was!" Anzu said matter of factly.

"That would be him…" Chris said pointing to Tex.

All chuckled a bit, before Jake caught sight of Hana.

His face flushed red instantly when he caught sight of her, and the fact she was wearing a white bikini didn't help matters.

Of course, Hana was doing the same thing, and with Jake's muscle shirt that showed off his toned chest and arms, it didn't help her situation either.

Finally Anzu said, "Well, since you boys are out here and the camping trip is in honor of our recent victory, why don't you join us?"

"Oh no, we wouldn't want to impose…" Jake said.

"We wouldn't mind. We'd love to have you all…" Hana said with a noticeable blush as she looked at Jake.

"Well it's settled then. Let's go camping boys!" Richard said.

* * *

They all followed the girls back to their campsite where they found the girls playing volleyball with one another.

Eventually, Jake and his squadron got challenged by the volleyball team, and they accepted the challenge.

After about an hour, the volleyball team emerged victorious and Jake and his squadron sat down for a much needed rest.

Jake sat down on a log and took a sip of water from his canteen.

Hana sat down beside him with a smile.

"What? Come to tell me how badly we got our butts kicked?" Jake flirted.

Hana playfully shoved him before replying, "Of course not silly! I was going to say good job!"

They bother laughed before Hana spoke again.

"So what were you all doing out here earlier?" she asked curiously.

"Well, it was mainly for a hike but also for a tradition Cass started a long time ago. You see, she had this mason jar of apple pie moonshine that she called the victory jar. We'd get one swig for every victory, but after she died, we just stopped doin' it. Today was the first time we took a swig since she died, so kind of our way of movin' on I guess." Jake replied.

That was when Hana asked about something she had been curious about for a while.

"How did Cass die Jake?" she asked.

Jake was silent for a moment, but then spoke up again.

"Well, I don't usually talk about it, but you're one of my best friends Hana, so I think it'll be ok if I tell you." He said.

Hana smiled at his comment.

She liked that fact that he considered her one of his best friends, but she still hoped that maybe they could be more than friends in time.

She then listened to his story.

"It was during spring break of last year, and we had just finished an air show in Oahu, Colonel released us to go home and see our families, and since I lived kind of far away, he allowed me to take my Mustang all the way back to Georgia. I don't think I was ever more proud when I landed that sucker back at my grandad's airstrip." He chuckled before becoming more forlorn.

"The next thing I know I get a call from Cap sayin' I need to get back to the ship in a hurry. Said that Cass was in really bad shape. Well, I got back and Cass was laid out in a hospital bed dying from a gunshot wound. Apparently she had decided to stay in Oahu for spring break, and she was out late one night, and some crazy druggie shot her." Jake said as his voice grew weak.

"I can still remember Richard as he held Cass's hand the night she died, and she told us both to keep flying, and to never lose our fighting spirit." He concluded.

Hana's eyes were now very sad.

"That's…that so terrible…" she said.

Jake nodded in agreement.

"Yeah…Cass didn't deserve to die like that. She should have at least died in the air, not at the hands of some drugged up punk!" Jake said clenching his fist.

That was when Hana placed her hand over his and said, "But you and the Eagles have kept her alive in your hearts. You've continued to fly in her honor, and I'm sure that she would be proud to know how far you've come, and how far you've brought us." She said smiling.

Jake smiled back and then finally realized that this might be the only chance he would get for a while.

He dug through his back pack and said, "I meant to give you this earlier this morning, but you had already left for the camping trip. But I guess now is as good a time as any." Jake said as he handed her the Wisteria arrangement that was thankfully still intact.

Hana's eyes grew wide in joy and excitement.

"Wisteria! My favorite!" she said delighted.

She then smiled gratefully at Jake and said, "Thank you Jake, these are beautiful!"

Jake smiled and then said, "Oh yeah, and there was also something I wanted to tell you…." He said getting nervous again.

"T-There was actually something I wanted to tell you as well…" Hana said now getting nervous as well.

Jake's eyes grew wide.

"Oh, well…you go ahead then." He said.

"No, you first." Hana said.

"Ok here it goes…" Jake thought as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Well Hana…I've come to know a lot of really sweet and beautiful girls in my lifetime, but there's only one that's been really true and honest, and that's been you…" Jake began.

Hana blushed heavily at his compliment and smiled wide.

"And so…that's why I….I…..love you…I love you…." He finally spat out.

Hana looked up wide eyed and in disbelief.

"H-He confessed to me!" she thought to herself.

He was gazing down lugubriously and then finally spoke again.

"Sorry…I know this was probably really dumb of me and-" he was cut off by Hana who lifted his chin so they were eye to eye.

"No it wasn't" she said.

"W-What makes you say that?" Jake asked.

"Because….I love you too…" she said smiling.

The two both knew that there was nothing more to be said, and they melted into a kiss.

"Finally." Jake thought.

"At last" Hana thought.

Both held the kiss for as long as they could before they were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

They both quickly looked up to see Tex and Saori, who unknown to them had been watching the entire time, staring devilishly at them.

"I hope we weren't interrupting anything partner!" Tex said which made Hana blush.

Jake then hugged Hana to his chest.

"Oh no, no worries here!" he said sarcastically.

Saori then advanced and broke them apart as she sat down between them and crossed her legs.

"Alright Jake-san, you have my permission to date my best friend, but…." She said as her face got very red.

"IF YOU BREAK HER HEART I'LL BREAK YOUR FACE!" she yelled.

"Ok, ok! Message received!" Jake said exasperated.

Saori then smiled slyly.

"Now that that's over," she began as she shoved Hana and Jake back together.

"Aren't they cute!?" she said to Tex.

"Yep! Cuter than a button!" Tex said tauntingly.

Hana and Jake both smiled at one another before Jake piped up again.

"So how long have you two been a thing?" he asked Tex.

"Way longer than you and Hana have!" he said making fun of his wingman.

"Honestly Jake, could you have waited any longer to confess or ask her out? I mean seriously!" Saori said crossing her arms.

He looked at Hana who smiled at him once again.

"I just had to wait for the right time I guess." He said as he looked at Hana.

"Well, when you two are done making out, we could use some help making the food!" Saori said as she grabbed her boyfriend by the arm and hauled him back towards the camp fire.

Jake looked back at Hana and took her hand.

"So…is it safe to call you my girlfriend now?" he asked blushing.

Hana blushed as well and smiled.

"Of course!" she said happily before they shared a kiss once more.

As they pulled away Jake couldn't help but feel euphoric and completely alive.

They walked back to the main area of the camp site hand in hand and spent the rest of the day close to one another.

Finally, the two ended the day looking up at the night sky with one another.

And as he kissed the girl he considered the most beautiful in all of Japan under that full moon, he knew that he had never been happier.


	10. Chapter 10

**What's up everyone! I know this chapter is a little behind schedule, but I've been kinda busy lately and summer classes are gonna be starting soon, so the next few chapters may take a little longer. Till then though, here is chapter ten. Also, to those who have been skeptical about Retribution, you should definitely have a look at this chapter...**

* * *

**One week following the Oarai vs Kuromorimine match**

Ever since the camping trip, Jake began to feel like he had been living in a dream.

He finally had told Hana how he felt, and now they were finally together.

As Jake finished with his physical training and prepared for school once again, he couldn't help but smile.

After a few more minutes, he found himself waiting outside Hana's apartment to walk with her to class.

Finally she emerged, and they both caught each other for a quick hug and kiss like usual.

"Morning beautiful!" Jake greeted her.

"Good morning Jake!" she replied.

As the couple walked hand in hand towards the school they were soon joined by Saori, Tex, and Miho, all who were again toting a very sleepy Mako.

"Good morning everyone!" Saori called as she, accompanied by Tex, supported Mako.

"Morning ya'll!" Jake responded.

"Good morning!" Hana responded as well.

"I guess Mako had a rough time getting up again?" Jake asked.

Mako grumbled in response before Miho said, "Yeah, just a little…"

The group all laughed before heading on their way.

Sodoko scolded Mako once again, and shot Jake and Tex a disapproving glare for being so close to Hana and Saori.

"Ahem!" she said clearing her throat and pointing to Jake and Hana.

The two then realized they were still holding each other's hands.

"I don't care if you two are dating or not, but keep the PDA policies in mind while you're on school grounds!" Sodoko warned.

The two both released their hands and apologized. But once they were out of Sodoko's sight, they smiled and chuckled to one another as they once again joined hands.

Miho smiled and giggled a bit at the two while Saori was blushing and hugging Tex's arm.

As they all made it through their morning classes, Jake began to ponder more about the next match.

They would be up against St. Gloriana, and if they brought Spitfires, it wouldn't be an easy fight.

But he put that thought aside as he remembered that the match was a good two weeks away, and that he and Hana would have the whole weekend together when the ship made port in Oarai.

As the two sat down at lunch later they began to plan out their weekend.

"Where do you think you wanna go?" he asked Hana.

"Well, I know of a flower arrangement gallery that's supposed to have a new exhibit, so that might be nice." She replied.

Jake smiled.

"Sounds good to me." He said.

"What about you? Is there any place you want to see?" Hana asked.

Jake thought for a moment, and then replied.

"Is there a plane or a tank museum anywhere in the town?" he asked.

"I think so. I've been by what looked like one before, but never had the chance to visit it. Maybe we can this weekend." She said in response.

Jake again smiled.

"Long as I get to spend the weekend with you." He said as the two took each other's hand.

Hana blushed and smiled at Jake's gesture before Saori cut in.

"Aren't they the sweetest!?" she said teasing her best friend.

"Saori…" Hana complained while blushing heavily.

Jake simply laughed and smiled again at Hana.

* * *

Later on that day after practice, Jake saw Richard pacing furiously around his Mustang.

He approached cautiously.

"Hey Cap, what's with all the pacing?" he asked.

He jumped slightly before replying.

"Oh, sorry Jake. It's just…I'm still kinda worried about what happened to Marlene. We never heard anything else after the match." He admitted.

Jake was just about to answer when he saw Colonel Jenkins approaching with two girls out of the corner of his eye.

His eyes went wide when he recognized the two girls.

"Hey Cap." Jake said as he gestured towards the trio.

Both boys immediately saw the faces of Maho and Marlene.

As they approached, Jake and Richard saluted the Colonel before he spoke.

"At ease gentlemen. As you can tell, we've got some visitors." He said.

"Is my sister here? I need to speak with her right away." Maho said.

"In the hangar. She should still be by her Panzer IV." Jake responded.

Maho nodded and walked off to find Miho.

Jake could only guess that she had brought word of what had become of Shiho, and also to offer some comfort to her younger sister as Miho had been feeling pretty low over what had happened to her mother.

That was when Richard spoke up.

"Marlene….how have you been?" he asked worried.

She smiled slightly and replied in English.

"Much better, thanks. I don't think I'd be standing here right now if it hadn't been for you." She said.

Richard was taken aback slightly at her statement, but he smiled at the compliment.

"All I did was talk you through the emergency landing. You're the one who had to do it. If that doesn't say something about your piloting skills, then I don't know what does." He replied.

Jake noticed Marlene slightly blush under Richard's gaze before the colonel spoke again.

"It's because of her skill I've decided to make her an offer in fact." He stated.

"What kind of offer?" Jake inquired.

"After what happened during the match, Kuromorimine lost its privilege to field aircraft for the remainder of the season. And with Shiho Nishizumi in custody, the entire school is in chaos. So when I visited Miss Hartmann in the hospital, I made her an offer: if she would agree to fly for our team, then she would receive the same scholarship benefits she was receiving at Kuromorimine." Jenkins stated.

Both boys stared in awe at this new revelation.

"So…you'll be going to school here at Oarai then?" Richard asked Marlene.

She nodded happily in response.

"Yes! I'll be starting classes next Monday, but the colonel wanted to bring me here early so that I could meet everyone, and so I could start flying with you all."she said.

Richard and Jake both smiled.

"Well, then welcome to Eagle Squadron!" Jake said.

"C'mon, we'll introduce you to the rest of the team!" Richard said as they walked towards the hangar.

Upon entering they saw Miho just finishing up her conversation with Maho.

The two sisters embraced one another before Maho strode towards the trio.

"Take care of Miho for me please. It's going to be a little while before I see her again." She said.

"Trouble at Kuromorimine?" Jake asked.

Maho nodded solemnly.

"With mother in custody, it will fall to me to ensure the school stays afloat. It will take some time, but I'm sure I can handle it. Like I said, please look after Miho for me. She still is in somewhat of a delicate state in light of what happened to Mother." She said before trodding off.

"What exactly did happen to Shiho?" Jake asked Marlene.

"From what I was told, she was arrested and imprisoned. And from the looks of things, she'll be there for a while…" Marlene said.

"Good riddance…" Jake thought.

Finally the trio made their way into the main part of the hangar and Marlene was introduced to the entire sensha-do team.

"Everyone meet Marlene Hartmann. She's the pilot you've heard so much about since our match with Kuromorimine, and the icing on top of the cake is that she's now going to be flying for us!" Richard announced.

The remaining two pilots and all of the girls immediately rushed forward to meet their new teammate.

"So you're actually from Germany?" Aya asked.

"Are you truly related to Erich Hartmann?" Erwin asked.

"What was that nasty crash like!?" Hoshino asked.

"Hey c'mon guys cool it! That's more questions than she can answer at once!" Jake said.

Marlene simply laughed.

"It's quite alright. Yes, I am from Germany, Erich Hartmann was my relative, and let's just say I don't wish to have a crash like that again!" she said answering the questions that had been thrown at her.

Tex and Chris then stepped forward.

"Hey, we met briefly at the match but I'm Jeremy Lyons! Call me Tex though!" Tex said introducing himself.

"And I'm Chris Rowland! By the way, you owe me for puttin' several holes in my Mustang after I blew that Maus to hell and back." Chris said.

Marlene again laughed and said, "It's nice to meet you all!"

That was when the girls of Anglerfish team approached.

"Hi there. I'm Miho Nishizumi." Miho said introducing herself.

"Maho's younger sister! I've heard a great many things about you, and I'll look forward to working with you!" Marlene said in response.

Yukari then introduced herself and Mako managed to grumble out a greeting as well.

Saori was quick to introductions as well as declaring Tex as her boyfriend.

Hana, who had been standing beside Jake, simply laughed at her best friend's behavior.

"Marlene, this is my girlfriend, Hana Isuzu." Jake said introducing Hana.

Hana bowed politely and said, "Welcome to the sensha-do team Marlene. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have."

Marlene smiled in response.

"Thank you! I must say though, your boyfriend is certainly quite skilled when it comes to air combat maneuvering. I wonder has he used any of those maneuvers on you?" Marlene said slyly.

"WHA!?" Jake said surprised and embarrassed.

"EHH!?" Hana said now turning a deep red.

Marlene burst out laughing before saying, "I'm only joking! What I mean to say is that you're certainly lucky to have him as your boyfriend. You two seem like quite the ideal couple!"

Both Jake and Hana breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled at one another slightly embarrassed at the German girl's comment.

Richard chuckled under his breath.

"Sounds EXACTLY like something Cass would've said…." He thought as he looked at Marlene.

He couldn't help but wonder what it was about her that reminded him so much of his deceased lover.

Then it hit him.

Spunk.

This girl had Cass's spunk.

While Marlene was still busy talking with the girls, he huddled up with the other three boys.

They all quietly discussed something, and then came to an agreement.

Richard smiled pleased and then said, "Well now that introductions are over, why don't we introduce you to your new bird?"

"Absolutely! What will I be flying?" Marlene asked.

"An old mount of the squadron's…" Richard said as he pointed towards "Pegasis."

"I thought that was Cass's old plane though." Hana said into Jake's ear.

"It was. But this is the way she would have wanted it." Jake said.

Marlene smiled pleased at the chrome Mustang that had a winged horse painted on its fuselage.

"I like it!" she said excited.

Richard smiled and then said to Miho, "Commander, with your permission, I'd like to let the squadron paint a personal insignia on each of our planes."

Miho smiled and said, "Permission granted."

With that, all five pilots set to work, and in another hour, all had a new insignia painted on the forward part of the fuselage in the center of the large lightning bolt.

Richard had aided Marlene in painting a black devil riding atop the winged horse on her Mustang, and the red letters now read, "Peagsis and the Black Devil" in honor of her great-grandfather.

Tex had painted a cartoon version of Saori holding a bomb by the tip atop a storm-cloud, and the red letters underneath read, "ThundHERstruck."

Chris had painted a stork carrying a bomb in a sack with the words, "Special Delivery" painted below it.

Richard had a cartoon version of Robert E. Lee with his sword drawn and pointing forward. The writing below it read simply, "General Lee."

Finally, Jake had painted Hana dressed in her sensha-do uniform with a wisteria vine in her hand and the Georgia state flag flying behind her.

The inscription above the painting read "The Heart of Dixie" in bright red letters.

Hana smiled at Jake's handiwork, and Jake blushed slightly.

"I uh…hope I got the eyes right…" he said as he looked at her grey-blue eyes.

She smiled approvingly and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"It looks wonderful! And…I like the whole idea behind it too…" she said blushing.

Jake smiled as well.

She had interpreted the painting exactly as he had envisioned it; Hana as the sole owner of Jake's heart.

The two embraced and got lost in the moment for a minute or two.

"Aww, they're so sweet!" Yuzu noted.

"No fair! I want a boyfriend like Jake too!" Aya pouted.

"Well….I'm still available!" Chris said piping up.

"WHA!?" the entire Rabbit team said at the same time.

"Ewww! No way!" Aya said immediately.

"Stalker!" Karina said.

"Perv!" Ayumi joined in.

All three girls kicked him in the shin before walking off.

"Ouch! What was that for anyway!?" Chris protested.

Richard simply shook his head before re-assuring his wingman.

"Keep your chin up flyboy, there's more fish in the sea. Just make sure you don't go for the younger fish next time!" he said.

"Hey that's not funny Cap!" Chris said in response.

All present laughed, and eventually headed home.

Jake and Hana shared one final kiss before Jake left Hana at her apartment.

"See you tomorrow morning." Jake said.

"Alright. See you later." She responded.

Jake sighed, and walked back to his apartment.

"Is life good or what?" he thought to himself.

* * *

**Next Morning. Oarai city dock, 0800 hrs. **

Jake met up with Hana that morning near the ship's ramp.

Both were dressed in their normal civilian attire, and seemed to be in high spirits.

Jake smiled as he caught sight of her.

The two embraced as they greeted each other.

"Hey! Ready to go?" he asked.

She smiled back and said, "Absolutely!"

With that they headed off towards their first destination which was the flower arrangement gallery Hana had previously spoken of.

Upon arrival, Jake was taken by surprise at the beauty of most of the arrangements.

He had to admit, there was definitely a lot of skill and talent that went into the arrangements.

More than anything though he was just glad to see Hana happy.

He smiled as they walked past each arrangement, and saw how intrigued Hana became over each one.

He listened curiously as she described how each one had been made, and what kinds of flowers had been used as well.

Then, he caught sight of a very peculiar arrangement.

Out of curiosity he walked towards it, and upon further examination, he realized the vase was in the shape of a tank!

"Huh? Oh! I'm surprised they still have that on display!" Hana said joining Jake.

"Did you make this?" Jake asked.

Hana smiled as she nodded.

"Mmmhmm. This is the arrangement I told you about that helped me make peace with my mother again, and it was also the first one that I really felt was done to the best of my abilities." Hana said.

Jake smiled as he looked the arrangement over.

"Powerful and strong, but at the same time, gentle and beautiful….just like you." He said as he smiled at his girlfriend.

Hana blushed from the compliment, but then smiled and kissed his cheek.

"You really are too sweet…" she said flirtatiously.

Jake simply chuckled and took hold of her hand.

Eventually, they made it to the museum where they found a few familiar faces.

"Hana! Jake! I thought we'd see you here eventually!" Saori said as she approached with Tex, Yukari, Miho, and Hippo team.

"Hey you guys! Good to see you all!" Jake said as they joined the group.

"Well, isn't this a surprise!" said a familiar voice from behind Jake.

"Grandad!? Geez, you just keep poppin' up all over the place don't you?" he said turning around.

"Well, I figured since you were gonna be in Oarai this weekend, and this might be the last time I can get these old bones outta Georgia, I might as well come and see you! Hehe, and that new girlfriend of yours…" he said with a sly smile.

Jake flushed red slightly but smiled all the same.

"It's good to see you again Mr. Housten. I hope that it's alright that Jake and I are dating." Hana said politely in English.

Marvin simply grinned in response.

"Of course it is! More than alright actually, it's about darn time he found himself a nice girl like you! Ha, for a while there, I thought he'd be my age fore' he finally found himself a girlfriend!"he said as he burst into a fit of laughter.

Jake again blushed in embarrassment before he piped up again.

"Well, we were just about to check out the museum Grandad, why don't you come along?" Jake asked.

"Well why else would I have come here Jake?" he again teased his grandson.

All laughed before heading deeper into the museum.

"You're grandfather's quite hilarious!" Hana said to Jake.

Jake chuckled and said, "Yeah, you're tellin' me! He's always been that way since I can remember, and he's one of the best pilots I know too."

"How long has he been flying?" Hana asked.

"Since he was about fifteen from what he told me. He started crop dusting about that time, and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943. After that, he flew in the military until about 1952 when he retired and started his crop dusting business where he's been ever since." Jake said.

"That's really impressive!" Hana said as they stopped in front of several planes from World War Two.

Jake eyed a Mustang similar to his own amongst a British Supermarine Seafire, a Grumman F-6F Hellcat, a Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero, and a very peculiar looking Ki-43 Otsu, or "Oscar" as the American flyers had called it.

Upon noticing it, Jake and Hana both approached it.

Marvin was close behind, and had a strange look in his eyes.

Jake began trying to read the description, but didn't have much luck as he was still not proficient at reading Kanji.

"This…plane….was…shot...down...in…." he began but finally turned to Hana for aid.

"Think you could give me a hand here Hana?" Jake asked sheepishly.

She smiled in reponse and said, "Sure!"

Jake then moved aside to allow Hana to get a better look at the description.

"This Ki-43 was shot down in late 1945, approximately two weeks before the war ended. It was discovered in 2006, and fully restored in 2008. It's pilot was Major Mitso Ogawa of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, otherwise known as the 'Dragon Ace.'" Hana concluded as her eyes fell upon the restored painting of a painting of a very evil looking dragon depicted on the fuselage.

That was when Marvin became very apprehensive, and wouldn't stop staring at that emblem.

"What's it say here Hana?" Jake said pointing to a smaller depiction on the emblem on the description pad.

"It says 'Retribution toward mine enemy'….." Hana trailed off, slightly shaken from the grim emblem.

That was when Jake noticed Marvin's apprehensiveness.

"You ok Grandad?" Jake asked.

"Y-Yeah…I'm fine, just…a little light headed that's all." He said.

"Why don't we go and get some food then. You might feel better once you've eaten something." Hana offered.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Let's go." Jake agreed.

The trio made it to the museum's small food court and sat down with their food.

Jake did his best to keep the conversation light, but he knew something was still bothering his grandfather.

Eventually Hana stood up and said, "I'm going to the ladies room. I'll be right back." She said.

"Alright. We'll be right here." Jake said in response.

That was when Jake noticed that the news was on one of the televisions in the food court.

"Another stunning victory for Oarai against Kuromorimine last week, but even more stunning is the events after the match. Shiho Nishizumi was taken into custody for the attempted murder of Oarai's four pilots after losing the match, and Retribution has made yet another threat. Ringleader Mariko Ogawa states that 'This mockery will not go tolerated any longer. Should any more attempts be made by males to fly, armed retaliation will be utilized. All male tankery pilots should be considered warned, especially these so-called Eagles of Oarai'" the reporter stated.

Jake again was appalled, but his grandfather didn't seem surprised.

"I almost knew something like this would happen eventually…." He said staring into his drink.

"What are you talking about Grandad?" Jake asked.

"Listen very closely to what I'm about to tell you Jake, because there are some things you are about to learn that may be connected to the events that have been happening." He said firmly.

"If, it's about these bitches being sore about males flying in tankery-"Marvin cut him off.

"That's just a bunch of hog-wash Jake, and don't believe for a second that that's why they're pissed. There's a much more grim reason…" he said.

Jake then listened closely to what his grandfather had to say.

"It was about sixty years ago, 1945 to be exact, about thirty miles south of Oarai in fact…." He began.

* * *

_**Flashback. Thirty Miles South of Oarai, Japan, 1945. CPT Marvin Housten, 118**__**th**__** Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. **_

"Yellow Two, you get those photo's yet?" Marvin radioed his wingman.

"Roger that Yellow One. Now that we've got these, we ought to head back to Iwo Jima. Don't wanna over-stay our welcome." He responded.

"Couldn't agree more Yellow Two and…wait…" Marvin said as he spotted something off high and to his right.

"Bogeys! Two o' clock high!" Marvin called out.

"Tally ho! I've got em'!" his wingman responded.

The two pilots then turned their P-51D's into the direction of the incoming Japanese fighters, and Marvin immediately recognized the two planes as Ki-43's otherwise known as "Oscars."

The two duos past each other and Marvin and his wingman pulled hard and dove to get behind their foes.

He immediately locked onto one of the Ki-43 and fired his fifties.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-BOOM!

The Oscar exploded into flames and went down quickly.

The other however, proved to be a more challenging opponenet.

Eventually, Marvin's wingman had to break off through all of the maneuvering, and it was down to just Marvin and the Japanese pilot.

As the two tried to out-turn each other in a tight Lufbery circle, Marvin could see clearly inside the cockpit.

He saw the fierce expression of the pilot as well as the emblem of a red dragon on the side of his plane with many kill markers adonring it.

Then, to Marvin's disbelief, he heard his radio crackle to life with the voice of the Japanese pilot speaking in broken English.

"You should already know you have lost American. I am Mitso Ogawa, the Dragon Ace, and I am bound by my country's honor to defeat you!" he said.

"I wouldn't count on it Tojo, I'll make you eat those here directly!" Marvin said in response.

The two then dived, twisted, climbed, and soared over the skies with neither one seeming to gain the advantage.

Finally however, Marvin was able to pull in behind the Japanese pilot, and he cut loose with all six of his Brownings.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-BOOM!

The Oscar exploded violently, and Marvin circled around to confirm the kill.

As he looked down into the burning cockpit he heard the pilot utter one final message.

"You may have beaten me American, but mark my words, you and your descendants will receive retribution!" he said a spilt second before the Ki-43 impacted into a rice field.

Marvin shook as he saw the impact.

"What in the hell was he talking about?" he thought.

"Yellow One, you ok?" his wingman radioed him.

"Roger Yellow Two. Let's head back to Iwo, we're pushing our fuel as it is." He said as they turned back for their base.

Upon landing, Marvin gave his report to his CO and cited the incident with the so-called "Dragon Ace."

His commander froze when he heard the name.

"Mitso Ogawa!? Housten, you do realize who you just killed don't you?" the commander said.

"No sir." Marvin replied.

The commander then pulled a file he had received warning him to beware of said pilot.

Marvin read the file and was in complete shock.

This pilot had a total of twelve kills, and was well respected within the Japanese society.

"What does this mean sir?" Marvin asked his commander.

"It means you had best be careful Captain." He said.

Marvin again shuddered as he looked at the pilot's photo and remembered his expression and his final message.

"Retribution…" he rolled the word over and over again in his memory.

* * *

**Oarai City Plane and Tank Museum. Present Day. 1220 Hrs.**

Jake was speechless.

"Y-You mean…" he began.

"Yes. That Mariko Ogawa is almost certainly Mitso Ogawa's descendant." Marvin said.

"But I don't understand how this would affect me…" Jake said confused.

"It affects you because she is the one who will most likely be carrying out Mitso's promised "retribution." Make no mistake, this "outrage" over male pilots in tankery is just an act, an act that will mask their real intentions, and that is to kill you and anyone close to you Jake." Marvin said sternly.

"To kill…me?" Jake said stunned.

His grandfather lowered his head.

"Yes Jake, you and me, and anyone close to us. After I shot him down, I did some more research about him and found out that he had a son shortly before he died. That son, promised that he would commit himself and his children to hunting me and my family down and killing us for killing his father. His son obviously never succeeded, but his daughter, Mariko, is formerly of the AJSDF and was an extremely good pilot. My gut tells me that Retribution will most likely try to attack you and your squadron at some point during the season Jake." His grandfather warned him.

"So where does that leave me?" Jake asked.

"Just be very careful Jake, and make sure you look after Hana. Because if they find out they can use her to hurt you, they will. So make sure keep her and yourself safe." Marvin replied.

It was about that time that Hana returned and sat back down.

She smiled brightly at Jake, but noticed his worried expression.

"I think I'm going to go back to my hotel and lay down Jake. I'll call before I leave, so you two have a good time alright?" Marvin said getting up.

"You sure you don't want us to walk you back to the hotel?" Jake asked concerned.

"No, I'll be fine. You two go have some fun and don't worry about ole' me!" he said with a grin.

After Marvin left, Jake and Hana rejoined their friends who were now musing over the different tanks in the museum.

As the couple walked past an outdoor exhibit of a an old M4 Sherman Hana finally spoke up.

"Jake, you've been awfully quiet since your grandfather left. Is something wrong?" she asked concerned.

"Huh? Oh no, everything's fine." Jake said with a re-assuring smile, but Hana saw straight through it.

"Jake, I know that not true. If something is bothering you please tell me what it is, I promise I'll help if I can." Hana said hugging his arm.

Jake sighed but smiled at his girlfriend's kindness.

"Alright. Sit down." He said motioning to a bench.

Jake then proceeded to tell her of the dogfight between his grandfather and the Japanese ace.

Hana listened wide eyed as Jake told the story, and was in disbelief as he finished.

"I…I don't know what to say…" she said solemnly.

Jake hung his head and replied, "Me neither but…" he took hold of Hana's hand. "The worst part of it is that they might try to hurt you to get to me….and that's more than I can bear…" Jake concluded.

Hana wrapped her arms tightly around him in response.

"Whatever happens, I'll be there for you no matter what. And I know you'll do the same for me, so…I think everything will be alright in the end!" she said.

Jake smiled as he embraced her.

It seemed like there was nothing in the world that could dampen Hana's spirits, and he counted himself lucky to have such a wonderful girl by his side.

"Well, whatever does happen, I just want you to be safe, ok?" Jake said as he gazed into her eyes.

Hana smiled and said, "Alright, as long as you promise me the same."

"I promise." Jake said as the two kissed.

They then caught back up with the group and found that they were still having a good time despite the unnerving news.

However, the thought of the dragon emblem still persisted in Jake's mind.

"Retribution…" he thought to himself.


End file.
